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Anthropology and Employment:

Anthropology and Employment:A Survey of Human Sciences Graduatesat the University of DurhamBob Simpson, Simon Coleman and Janet Starkey

University of DurhamDepartment of Anthropology

Acknowledgements.This report is prepared as part of a project funded by C-SAP (Centre for Learning andTeaching - Sociology , Anthropology & Politics). The project is entitled‘Anthropology in Policy, Practice and Professional Development: A DistanceLearning Package for Under-graduates [Project Ref: 07/A/02. Amount of award£5,000].We would like to express our thanks to the staff at CSAP and in particular toProfessor Sue Wright [former Director of CSAP], Dr. Anthony Rosie, Dr David Mills,Ms Michelle Poole and Ms Francis Thompson. We are grateful for the assistance ofMs Rosie Simpson with data in-putting and Dr Emma Gilberthorpe for undertakingthe interviews.Finally, we would like to extend our thanks to the Human Sciences Graduates whospent their time and effort filling out our questionnaires and talking with us ininterviews.3Table of ContentsChanging Landscapes in Higher Education 1Human Sciences at Queen’s Campus, University of Durham 3The Knowledge and Practice Module 7The Survey of Human Sciences Graduates 8Job Descriptions 10Personal Development 13Financial Circumstances 14Future Career Prospects 15Usefulness of Human Sciences in Securing Employment 15Employer Interest in Degree Subject 17Having One’s Time Over Again 18The Usefulness of My Degree 19Knowledge and Practice 20Vocational Support 22Timelines 24Biographical Factors and Employment 33Conclusions: Anthropological Knowledge and Skill in relation to Employment 34Coda: Future Research 35References 37Appendix One: Knowledge and Practice Course Documentation 38Appendix Two: The Survey Letter and Questionnaire 56Appendix Three: Telephone follow-up on none-responders 64

Anthropology and Employment: A Survey of HumanSciences Graduates at the University of DurhamChanging Landscapes of EducationIntroducing a 2002 C-SAP conference entitled ‘The New Higher Education: Learningand Teaching in a Knowledge Society’,1 Sue Wright used the imagery of landscape todescribe the current situation facing teachers and students in UK universities. Thelandscape she sketched was dominated by a sheer cliff face on top of which wereplaced the ‘international knowledge economy’ and higher educational policies andinstitutions. Lower down were students, disciplines and the stream of learning andteaching. Somewhere in between these two points were presumably lecturers,struggling to keep a perspective on the landscape above and below them. Whether ornot we agree on the specific elements that make up the image, it serves an importantpurpose, which is to suggest that all education exists in an often precipitous social andpolitical context that encompasses local, national and even transnational influences.Furthermore, it is crucial for us to try to understand how these elements for students,teachers, researchers and administrators feature as part of the changing landscape ofUK higher education.Such a remark might seem to be a truism when presented to social scientists, and yetwhen applied to anthropology it expresses a situation that has been surprisinglyunremarked by practitioners of the discipline. Anthropologists have been expert atexamining the social contexts of ‘the field’ but far less adept at analysing andcomprehending developments in the teaching institutions in which they spend muchof their time. As a result, we know little of how the discipline is reproduced outsidethe confines of a relatively narrow, university based genealogy. The majority ofanthropology students pass through the system leaving little imprint on the subjectand, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, with their degrees making littleimprint on them. In short, we know little about how anthropology is received andinterpreted by students when they are at university, and even less about its relevanceto them once they graduate.Raising these questions is important if we are to move beyond a view of anthropologywhich focuses merely on academic ‘content’ and begins to explore anthropologicalpedagogy in terms of its own distinctive ‘culture’, processes and outcomes. Suchquestions are especially important at the present time given shifts in the economic andpolitical landscape of higher education in the United Kingdom and beyond. Theconjunction of widening access to higher education, new forms of accountabilityunder-pinning the allocation of scarce resources and the progressive shift of highereducation funding onto students themselves with the inevitable consequence of longterm indebtedness means that many of the attractions of a liberal education in the artsor humanities are being eclipsed by the pursuit of vocational and practical courses.As a consequence of this conjunction, Universities are now competing for scarceresearch and teaching resources in a way that they never have before. There is also an1 (Aston University, 11-12 January 2002; cf. Coleman 2002:26)5expectation of higher levels of self-funding than might have been evident even in the1980s, as well as the looming spectre of ‘top-up fees’. Incursions into the structure ofactual course delivery have also been in evidence. Modularisation has, in theory,increased the possibility of student choice in constructing degree programmes inwhich there is less loyalty to a single discipline or cohort of fellow students, andgreater emphasis on the instrumental ‘worth’ of a given topic. Echoing this point,Mills notes (2003:19) a real decline over the last decade of applications to singlehonours social science disciplines in favour of more mixed and thematic degrees, andoften ones with an explicit vocational relevance. Anthropology is itself caught in thistide; increasingly taught in multidisciplinary programmes, with some establishedhonours programmes showing signs of recruitment problems. Given suchdevelopments, a question one might pose is how much anthropology is necessary tomake a student a bona fide anthropologist? More generally, there is the question ofhow anthropology is perceived by a student body that is becoming more diverse andfragmented in terms of class and age profiles as widening participation policies taketheir effect. In comparison with other social sciences (Mills 2003:20), 63% ofanthropology students in 2002 whose economic background was known came fromthe top two social class categories, compared with 52% for sociology, and an averagefor all the social sciences of 56%. While it is true that anthropology has tended to betaught in the older universities and therefore has been likely to attract such aconstituency, we should also ask whether the discipline as it is currently constituted isonly partially effective in moving beyond established constituencies and, if so, why?One possible explanation for the current position of anthropology in the academic andsocio-economic landscape of the UK is that its practitioners have failed todemonstrate the relevance of the discipline in the world of work into which the vastmajority of anthropology graduates try to enter. Failure in this regard may continue tohave repercussions, with the future of some programmes in anthropology comingunder threat of closure. Sillitoe (2003:2) therefore asks: ‘What is it to be ananthropologist employed outside the academy?’ and argues for the need to increasethe profile of anthropology in fields where it has obvious ‘relevance’ such asdevelopment, forensic science, the media, museums and intercultural work, but alsoother occupations where the benefit of an anthropological training is less clear, suchas law, banking, social work, human resources, retailing, management and the armedforces [also see Simpson 1997 and Pink and Fardon 2004]. We agree with Sillitoethat, at the very least, investigating the fate of anthropology beyond universities is avital task that needs to be undertaken sooner rather than later. In similar vein, Mills(2003:22) suggests that: ‘There is scope for further investigation into the sorts ofstudents who study anthropology, and into where people take their subject-specificskills after their undergraduate or postgraduate training.’In this report we present results from an empirical and inductive study ofanthropology graduates and the use their anthropology degree has been to them intheir working or personal lives. What follows is, among other things, precisely anattempt to initiate investigation of the kind called for by Sillitoe and Mills, and anattempt to link one particular culture of anthropological pedagogy in the UK withdevelopments at national and international levels.Human Sciences at Queen’s Campus, University of Durham.6The anthropology course that is the focus of this research has been delivered at theQueen’s Campus of the University of Durham since it was first opened in 1992. Sincethen, numerous changes have occurred in the organisation and orientation of theUniversity of Durham’s involvement at the Stockton site. In order to situate thesedevelopments in relation both to the broader picture outlined in the previous sectionand to the detailed survey material presented later, it is first necessary to provide abrief history of the University of Durham’s involvement with developments atStockton 2Queen’s Campus [QC] is located some 18 miles south of Durham in the town ofStockton, formerly known for its ship-building and heavy engineering. At the presenttime, the Campus has two colleges. One is named after John Snow, a pioneer ofpublic health, and the other after George Stephenson, the famous railway engineer.Both these nineteenth-century luminaries have strong connections with the North Eastof England. Significantly, they represent the worlds of medicine and industry asopposed to the saints and bishops that have often been used to name colleges based inDurham. The Stockton colleges are, however, modelled on and an integral part of theDurham collegiate system and at the time of writing have around 900-950 studentseach.3 Before it was given the title of Queen’s Campus in 2000, the campus wasknown as the University of Durham, Stockton Campus (UDSC) and did not havecolleges. Prior to that it was known as University College Stockton (UCS) which,although a college, bore little relation to those on the Durham campus: unlike them, itwas essentially a teaching institution only, and its semi-autonomous character wasevident in the fact that it was run on a two-semester system unlike the three termsused in Durham. During the planning stage and first year of the institution’s life itbore the rather unwieldy title of Joint University College on Teesside [JUCOT]. Theshifting of titles and designations in itself captures something of the difficulty thatexisted in trying to attach a new, purpose-built and radically new institution onto onethat was both prestigious and established.At the outset the proposal for a ‘joint’ enterprise was a novel cross-sectorcollaborative venture between a polytechnic (Teesside) and an ‘old’ university(Durham); at that time this was a bold and innovative model for future integrationwithin a two-tier higher education system. However, with re-organisation of theHigher Education sector in the early 1990s and the re-designation of polytechnics asuniversities, the attraction of cross-sector collaboration ceased to have meaning andpolytechnics elected to pursue the path of autonomy rather than integration. As aconsequence, after passionate courtship, marriage, and the successful birth of aninstitution, the parents decided to dissolve their partnership, with custody of their(now quite large) offspring passing entirely to the University of Durham. There thenfollowed a process of developing closer administrative and bureaucratic integrationbetween Durham and Stockton. The fact that the institutional cultures were verydifferent is evident from the emergence of the terms ‘Durhamisation’ and‘Stocktonisation’ in the vocabulary of administrators and academics to describe theharmonisation of procedures according to whose systems were being made to fit with2 See Coleman and Simpson(2003) for a more detailed account of the development ofthe Human Sciences programme at the Queen’s Campus, Stockton..3 Thanks to Dr Karen Wesson for providing numerical data on Queen’s Campus.7whose. Inevitably, taking into account respective size and institutional momentumthere was a good deal of ‘Durhamisation’ and not much by way of ‘Stocktonisation’.Following, the acquisition of responsibility for the campus by Durham, there was alsoa substantial development of the infrastructure and an increase in the numbers of staffand students involved.Given the origins and recent history of the Stockton development it is not surprisingthat the character of the Queen’s Campus is markedly different from the parentinstitution in Durham. The distinctions are more than merely geographical. WhileDurham is the third oldest university in England, QC represents one of the mostsignificant single additions (along, perhaps, with Lincoln) to the University world inBritain in recent years. Durham students have tended to come from middle-class,often southern backgrounds, with a record of high achievement at A-level. QC in itsearlier incarnations was constructed partially in order to attract local, often workingclassstudents from the Teesside conurbation, which at that time had one of the lowesttake-up rates for higher education in Europe (cf. Beynon et al. 1994).In the early days, the mission of QC corresponded closely with the efforts of the thenConservative government to increase the proportion of the population who wereeducated to degree level (Benn & Fieldhouse 1993). Such policies were formulatedagainst the backdrop of an economy in the throes of re-structuring, with redundanciesand high levels of unemployment an inevitable consequence. Under such conditions,education and training were seen as the key to a change of career. As far as highereducation was concerned the broad theoretical framework upon which many of thesedevelopments were hung was Torsten Husén’s notion of the ‘learning society’ (1974;cf. 1986 also see Antikainen et al 1996). Husén's vision was of people having accessto lifelong learning, with a variety of institutions supporting formal and informaleducation across the life-course. One of the more radical consequences of attempts torealise the ‘learning society’ was the dramatic increase in the number of maturestudents entering a higher education system that was in many ways more ‘userfriendly’.In the early 1990s, a high proportion of QC students were indeed ‘mature’,ranging from their mid-twenties to mid-sixties. Many were the first of their family togo to University, and had previously held jobs or brought up children with little or noexpectation of going into Higher Education.Thus, the Durham and the Stockton Campuses were in some respects akin toacademic moieties, complementing each other in the formation of alternativeapproaches to providing education. However, evaluation of the role and status of thenew development was highly variable: one senior administrator would often refer tothe project as ‘Durham’s social conscience’; others would present it in rather lessstirring terms as ‘Durham’s special needs department’. More recently policy changeswithin the University have moved this particular debate on considerably. Broadlyspeaking, the widening-participating agenda is now seen as the responsibility of thewhole University and not just the Stockton site. In addition, QC has begun to developits own distinctive academic and research profile (enhanced considerably by a newmedical faculty being located on the site). Although elements of the originalwidening-participation agenda still survive at QC, the high proportion of local maturestudents who came to the campus, often with a strong sense of community connection8and ownership, has now been greatly diluted by students with a more conventionalDurham profile.4Anthropology was a key element in the early development of QC and its strategy ofinvolvement also reflected many aspects of the ‘new’ and the ‘old’. The DurhamDepartment is located in an Edwardian building near the centre of the City. It isoverlooked by the city’s Norman castle and cathedral, and is close to the river Wear --a location for student rowing competitions and heritage tours. The QC buildings aresituated on the banks of the Tees, on the site of a former shipyard. On the site,extensive removal of past industrial pollution created a new, ‘cleansed’ landscape ofapparent post-industrial opportunity. Over ten million pounds was provided by theDepartment of the Environment via the Teesside Development Corporation to buildthe first phase of the campus. The project was followed by a second teaching buildingcompleted in 1998 and a research building which was completed in 2001. Furtherplans for new student residences, teaching blocks and a science park are also in theoffing. New housing and business premises have been located on the site, and theriver combines a canoe slalom with a stretch of water that has potential as an Olympicstandard rowing course. The first University building to be erected on the siteresembles a large space ship awaiting launch. Significantly, it was for a time used inthe evenings by Star Trek addicts, who liked its ‘space-age’ appearance and who attheir meetings would imaginatively convert it into the USS Resolution. Such asimilarity was not lost on the advertising agency employed to design campusrecruitment materials: ‘It’s Durham University, Jim, but not as we know it’proclaimed one advertisement depicting the College-as-starship.While the degree offered at Durham is described as ‘Anthropology’, those taught atQC have until recently been identified by the more generic labels of ‘HumanSciences’ (BA and BSc) and ‘Health and Human Sciences’ (BSc).5 The originalintention here was to leave behind a term that might be associated with a narrowspecialism and thereby pitch anthropology at new constituencies. Human Scienceswas also deemed to be a good title because it captured the breadth of social andbiological approaches to humanity within the degree in a way that the termanthropology might not for an unfamiliar audience. In keeping with these attempts togive anthropology a different kind of accessibility, Human Sciences modulestransformed stock anthropological subjects into more vernacular form: kinship, forinstance, became split into such modules as ‘Sex, Reproduction and Love’, and‘History and Change in the Family’. There was also considerable emphasis onresearch techniques and practical skills. Only in their final year would students fromboth departments come together to take selected modules in Stockton or Durham.Much that goes on at QC would be duplicated in any anthropology department in thecountry: lectures are given, seminars and classes taken, essays written, and books4 In 1997, 8.9% of students studying anthropology at Durham were recorded as‘mature’ compared with 51.8% studying Human Sciences at QC. By 2000 thesefigures had reduced to 4.3% mature students at Durham and 22.7% at QC. [Universityof Durham Staff and Students Statistical Handbook 1996-97 and 2000-01].5 Significantly, as part of recent discussions about the changing local landscapes ofHE there are discussions underway about re-naming some of the Human Sciencesdegrees so that they have ‘anthropology’ in their titles.9such as The Nuer read and reflected upon. As at Durham, biological and socialanthropology modules are taken by most students throughout all of their three years.Yet, particularly in the early years of the Human Sciences programme, there was alsoa more pronounced policy of making explicit the links between academic study andthe rest of students’ lives. Students were indeed encouraged to make of themselvesobjects of study. At the simplest level, staff attempted as far as possible to draw onWestern as well as non-Western material, undertaking local field trips and exercises,considering personal experience as well as the more familiar renditions of the ‘other’.Particularly in the social methods elements of the course, there was a consciousattempt to use anthropology as a reflexive, pedagogical tool. Much of this approachpersists in the current delivery of the programme but in a somewhat attenuated form.Reductions in contact time with students and growing pressures to meet researchoutput targets have meant that the quality of engagement needed to stimulate andmanage students’ personal as opposed to just academic engagement with the course isdifficult to sustain. Indeed, what began as an innovative and unconventional approachto the delivery and assessment of anthropology has in some respects moved closer tothe mainstream. As we have already seen, such changes are driven by wider structuralshifts in British higher education. Most notable of these is a move away from studentcentredlearning with its aspiration to fashion the experience of higher education tothe student’s needs, and back to a discipline-based model. This shift has been to alarge extent driven by the demands of audit and the search for commensurabilitybetween degree programmes. Similarly, the substantially raised stakes created by theresearch assessment exercise have turned many teachers who carried out research intoresearchers who carry out teaching.It is against this changing mis-en-scène of higher education that the Human Sciencesprogramme has been delivered for the past ten years. The survey we report on herethus covers a specific period in which a particular, reflexive style of pedagogy waspractised. One of the aims of this pedagogy was to develop the identity of students asadult learners within a particular social setting and to enable them to becomeknowledgeably skilful as part of the same process, with the former giving meaning tothe latter. We aspired to produce subjects capable of seeing how they were constitutedby their relationships with, and activities in, the world, with learning seen as integralto a wider life course trajectory. The student experience of university thus involvedthe partial objectification of self and de-objectification of knowledge, a dual processin which knowledge was both an academic currency and a means to understandoneself (cf. Coleman and Simpson 1999).The survey and interviews we have undertaken enables us to follow this experimentthrough into the lives of Human Science graduates, many of whom would notnormally have found their way into anthropology. The survey captures theirreflections on the Human Sciences degree in general and an applied anthropologymodule in particular, and furthermore how these have related to their working livesafter graduation. It thus offers a unique insight into the way an undergraduate trainingin anthropology translates [or fails to translate] into the world of work.Although we only discovered the parallels in retrospect, our approach has much incommon with that of Jenkins, Jones and Ward (2001) in their examination of the‘long-term effect of a degree’ on the working lives of Geography graduates fromOxford Brookes University. These researchers carried out a follow-up study of a10degree course that, like those of Human Sciences, has consciously deployed activelearning methods as well as incorporated job-related student skills within itscurriculum.6 Jenkins et al. note (p.147) that most in-house evaluation techniques havebeen biased towards questionnaire studies of individual modules, whereas very littlemoney has been invested in longer-term follow-up studies that assess the overall valueof a degree as a whole. A dearth of knowledge concerning the impact of degrees istherefore evident in the UK. They argue (p.148) that one advantage of a long-termapproach is that it provides perspectives on higher education from differentemployment sectors. Among their conclusions are the observations that, despitesimilarities in course content over time, student reception and interpretation of suchcontent varies greatly, and changes over time in line with experiences during and afterleaving college. In addition, it seems that encouraging social bonds among peergroups and between students and staff is a vital factor in enhancing the educationalexperience. More generally, Jenkins et al. show the advantages of a longer-term andqualitative approach to the evaluation of student experiences.The Knowledge and Practice ModuleWhile our survey questionnaire attempts to investigate the experiences of allHuman/Health and Human Sciences graduates from QC, we do have an additionalfocus on a third-year optional module in applied anthropology which has runthroughout the period covered by the survey. The module is entitled Knowledge andPractice and was, until 2002-03, delivered as a ten-credit module in the first semesterof the third year (see appendix one for a specimen of the course documentation). Inthis form it dealt with the application of anthropological knowledge in a variety ofresearch and vocational contexts.As part of a broader strategy to harmonise the structure of the academic year and themodular system on the Durham and Stockton campuses, the University moved awayfrom semesters and back to year long modules [an illustration of ‘Durhamisation’ asdescribed above]. Funds were obtained from C-SAP to facilitate the development ofKnowledge and Practice into a year-long module (twenty credits) with some noveladditions. Principal of these was the attempt to deliver aspects of the module bymeans of the University’s Blackboard (Durham University On-Line) learningenvironment, incorporating a problem-based learning element.7 It was also intended6 Their sample consisted of three graduates from each of 6 equidistant cohorts takenfrom 1979 to 1994. Sixteen interviews were conducted based on questions such as‘What use is a degree?’, ‘How do you think your degree experience relates to whatyou have done since?’ The Geography students were largely middle-class and camefrom an above average financial background. All interviewees were white. There wasan even balance of men and women with only two ‘mature’ students. At the end ofeach interview, graduates were asked to make broad connections between thecomponents of their higher education experience and their life since. Most agreedcourse content grew less and less useful.7 The survey on which we are reporting here was also funded as part of thedevelopment of the Knowledge and Practice module.11that in time the use of DUO would facilitate access to the module by students at bothcampuses.In its current form, the module covers the history and scope of applied anthropology,a critical exploration of the ethics of applying anthropology, transferringanthropological methods to the work-place and potential applications of anthropologyin a range of careers. There are also opportunities for students to hear presentationsfrom visiting speakers currently in employment in fields such as social work, medicaladministration and community work. A particularly popular session is one in whichHuman Sciences graduates are invited back to reflect upon how their training andeducation has been useful in their subsequent career. For their assessment, studentshave to produce a portfolio that contains practical data such as a CV and evidence ofresearch into a potential future career, as well as a critical account of how theknowledge and skills that anthropology provides might be used in this career,covering issues such as ethics, advocacy, participation and power.Whilst the general objective of the survey was to gain information from graduatesregarding their experiences after graduation, a more particular purpose was to gathertheir reflections on the usefulness or otherwise of the Knowledge and Practicemodule. Such information was deemed to be essential in developing and expandingthe module into its new, one year-long format. The results of this survey are presentedin the following section.The Survey of Human Sciences Graduates 1995-2002We sent survey questionnaires to all students who graduated from the HumanSciences programme between 1995 (the first cohort) and 2002. The questionnairescovered general queries regarding financial situation, personal development and theuse of the degree, as well as more specific questions about the Knowledge andPractice module [see Appendix Two]. Out of a total of 437 questionnaires, 121 werereturned, giving a response rate of 27.6%. A further 10 came back to us marked‘return to sender’ [2.2%].A response rate of 27.6% is not unusual for a survey of this kind, particularly as wewere trying to locate people using contact addresses that were up to eight years old insome cases. Nonetheless, it was felt necessary to do some further analysis of the nonrespondersin order to get some indication as to why they had failed to respond to thesurvey and to assess the extent to which the responders were a wholly representativegroup. To this end we undertook a random follow-up survey by telephone of 40 nonresponders[13%] to ascertain why they had not replied to the original survey, andadded a small number of supplementary questions [see Appendix Three]. In themajority of instances [n = 22 or 55%], respondents claimed that they had neverreceived the questionnaire in the first place. In a further 25% [10] of cases thequestionnaire was known to have gone to a previous address or that of a parent andwas not filled in. In six cases questionnaires were received but not returned. In five ofthese cases it was out of neglect and in the sixth there was a straightforward refusal tohave anything to do with the survey or with the telephone interview. In two instancesquestionnaires were said to have been filled in and returned but we never receivedthem.12The exercise in following up a random sample of non-responders suggested that in themajority of cases our failure to receive a response could be accounted for in terms ofpractical issues such as a failure of the postal service or respondents’ change ofaddress. There would also seem to be nothing to suggest that failure to respond wasmotivated by negativity towards the degree. Indeed, 78% [31] of the non-respondersanswered positively when asked whether they would do the degree if they had theirtime over again. This figure is broadly comparable with the 84% who respondedpositively to the same question in the survey [see below page ??]. Thus, inasmuch aswe are able to draw any conclusions from the telephone follow-up of a small randomsample of non-responders, it would appear that members of this group were notmotivated in any obvious way by negative attitudes towards the course.Students were surveyed for all years going back to the first cohort who graduated in1995. The breakdown of the sample by year of graduation is shown in table one.TABLE ONE Year of graduation.Frequency Percent1995 10 8.31996 17 14.01997 16 13.21998 13 10.71999 16 13.22000 13 10.72001 12 9.92002 24 19.8Total 121 100.0The sample was made up of 13% males [n= 16] and 87% females [105], whichbroadly reflects the marked bias towards female students that has characterised theHuman Sciences programme since its inception. At graduation the students ranged inage between 20 and 52 years with a mean age of 29 [std dev. 8.9]The majority of the students who replied came from locations in the North-East ofEngland with 61% coming from the North-East of England and just over half of these[36%] coming from the Teesside conurbation itself [see table two].TABLE TWO Location of respondentslocation Frequency Percent13Teesside 43 36North east 30 25elsewhere UK 46 38overseas 2 2Total 121 100The degrees awarded are shown in table three. The BA in Human Sciences was thefirst degree to be delivered within the Human Sciences programme in 1992, with theBSc in Health and Human Sciences coming on stream a year later in 1993. Therelatively small number of BSc Human Sciences degrees awarded reflects the fact thatthis programme only came into existence in 1997.TABLE THREE Degrees awardedFrequency PercentHuman Sciences BA 51 52Health and Human Sciences BSc 43 43Human Sciences BSc 4 5Total 99 100.0Job DescriptionsThe current employment circumstances reported by graduates suggest a surprisinglywide range of applications for Human Sciences degrees. These range from jobs wherethere is seemingly limited connection with the substance of a Human Sciences degree,such as a ‘Data in-put operator’ or a ‘Technical clerk in a nuclear power station’ ,through to ones where the links are quite explicit such as a ‘Multi-cultural EducationProject Co-ordinator’ . This considerable breadth of destination would suggest that aHuman Sciences degree can be used either as an indication of a general level ofcapability or in contexts where training in anthropology is more explicitly required.The largest single category of employment is in the Health Service, which accountsfor 19% [16] of those in work [see Table Four]. As might be expected, 14 of the 16who went into the Health Service graduated with a Health and Human Sciences BSc.The jobs that make up this category include descriptors such as: ‘Specialist DiabetesDietician Nurse in a day surgery’, ‘ Community Nurse Practitioner’, ‘Mental HealthAssessment in Primary Care’, ‘ Registered Nurse - Level 1’, ‘ Registered MentalNurse (Staff Nurse) – NHS’, ‘ Sure Start midwife’, ‘Qualified as an occupationaltherapist 2001 - joined Graduate Rotation with South Tees/Tees and North EastYorkshire NHS Trust’. It is important to note that in some instances progression intothe reported employment was not direct but was dependant on further training, forexample, as in the case of the dietician or the occupational therapist.The next most significant single category was local government and the civil service,in which 17% [n=14] of graduates found work. The jobs that make up this categoryinclude descriptors such as: ‘Lettings Officer’, ‘ School Library Service Manager’, ‘Administration Officer (Jobcentre Plus)’, .’ Civil Servant (Jobcentre)’, ‘ AssistantCommunity Safety Officer’, ’Borough Council Education Welfare Officer’,14‘Immigration Officer’, ‘Transport Supervisor - Borough Council, CommunityTransport’. As is readily apparent the range of jobs subsumed under this category isin itself extremely wide and suggests a number of possible levels of application forHuman Sciences knowledge and skills.Of the remainder, 15% [n=12] went into either primary or secondary teaching,13% [n=11] went into higher degrees or post-graduate qualifications and 9% [n=7]found employment in social and community work of some description.These five categories account for almost three quarters [73%] of the employmentdestinations of the graduates who responded. The remainder is made up of those whowent into business, the armed services, tourism, personnel or opted to become fulltimemothers.TABLE FOUR Job TypeFrequency Percentsocial / community worker 9 7health service 23 19manual/ service/ retail 3 2further/ higher education 9 7researcher - private sector2 2teacher - primary/ secondary15 12local government/ civil service17 14media 1 0.8higher degrees 13 11personnel/ management 3 3training - private sector 2 2voluntary sector / ngo 5 4business/ industry 10 8legal services 1 0.8tourism/ hospitality 2 2housewife 2 2unemployed 2 2secretarial/ administration2 2Total 121 100.0The sample records a very low level of unemployment [2%]. Indeed, the numbersreporting that they were unemployed markedly out of line with other destinationsurveys for Anthropology and Human Sciences. Table Five, for example, summarisesgraduate destination surveys sent out one year after leaving university and shows farhigher levels of unemployment for both Durham and Queen’s Campus graduates[Richardson 2000]15TABLE FIVE: Graduate Destinations for Anthropology Courses at Stockton and Durham*.EmployedFurther StudyUnemployedNot AvailableQC Durham QC Durham QC Durham QC Durham199644%59%24%27%27%10%3%5%199755%77%14%10%21%2%10%11%199847%65%20%16%33%16%0%3%199960%39%27%30%20%26%0%3%200056%42%28%28%7%17%3%3%* adapted from Richardson 2000.It may be that there is some tendency for those who are unemployed not to want toreport this back to us as it represents at a very basic level a failure to prosper from thedegree. However, this was not evident from the telephone follow-up survey. Of thosecontacted 35 (86%) were in employment. Of the five remaining, two were retired andthree were unemployed; of the latter one was unemployed by choice (‘never had a jobin my life’), one on health grounds and only one was actively seeking work. Anotherexplanation for these figures is the fact that our surveys are being carried out up toeight years after graduation which may suggest that the process of getting into stableemployment takes a little longer than the twelve months given before graduatesurveys are normally distributed.One noticeable feature of the kinds of jobs that our graduates went into is the sizeablenumber that are linked in some way with the notion of ‘ local regeneration’. Teessideis currently the target of numerous initiatives designed to address issues such as socialexclusion, drug abuse, educational deficit, community-breakdown and theconsequences of long term unemployment. The kinds of job titles that appear on thequestionnaires suggest that some of our graduates are finding employment in thesenew and often transient positions. For example, our respondents reported job titlessuch as : ‘Steps Project Administrator for WEETU (Women’s Enterprise,Employment Training Unit)’ , ‘Community Network Teamleader in a VoluntaryDevelopment Agency (Supporting voluntary and community representatives on localstrategic partnerships.)’,’ Working for the "Aim Higher" Governmental Initiative’,HARI (Housing and Regeneration Initiative) Project Officer’, ‘Community HealthDevelopment Worker (Sure Start, Western Tynedale)’ and ‘Support Worker for YouthOffending Service’. One recent and specialised field which graduates have movedinto relates to support for asylum seekers, typified in jobs titles such as: ‘Volunteer16Co-ordinator at First Step, a charity based in X who help Middle East women(including asylum seekers and refugees) learn English, gain confidence and skills andto get jobs’.In some respects, these jobs suggest the completion of a loop in which the Universityhas operated as an agent of regional regeneration through its widening participationendeavours. In time the benefits of a widened participation are felt as people return asgraduates back into the local employment economy in general and the field ofcommunity support and regeneration in particular. However, although these jobsoffer satisfaction and an engagement with important social issues there is concernabout their sustainability; as one person commented: ‘Funding in the voluntary sectoroften linked to time-limited re-generation schemes’.Personal DevelopmentAttitudes towards personal circumstances were explored via a question askingwhether respondents were satisfied with their current position in personaldevelopment terms. A somewhat surprising 80% answered that they were [TableSix].TABLE SIX Satisfied with Current Position in Development Terms?Frequency Percentyes 95 80no 24 20Total 119 100.0Written comments supporting this question suggest a range of interpretations wereplaced on the idea of ‘personal development’. Some respondents took personaldevelopment to mean something that happened in the context of their employmentsuch as ‘school is committed to personal development, always introducing newinitiatives’ or ‘this organisation wouldn’t know the meaning of personal developmentif it walked up and slapped them on the face’. Others chose to relate the questionback to the degree, locating their university experience as foundational in a broaderpersonal narrative, as in the following: ‘I am a very different person compared to whoI was 4/5 years ago. I went to university because I had no clue what I wanted to do.Luckily I found a course and discipline I really enjoyed, helping me to gain somedirection’ or ‘Since leaving university I feel I have matured and developed hugely inboth personal and professional terms. As soon as I left university I became a parttimevolunteer at Amnesty International at the same time as successfully completing apost-graduate diploma in law. I chose to do these as a result of my degree subject, totry to make it possible for me to use it in a practical way - human rights law’.Amongst the positive responses, a strongly recurrent theme was that people haveended up doing things that they enjoy doing and, just as important, there arepossibilities for development in their work, such as further in-house training or postgraduatequalifications [diplomas and MAs etc]. Such sentiments are captured in thewords of a trainee clinical neuropsychologist: ‘The position I am in now is just the17first step of what I hope will be a long career in the health service. I love my job andits variety (even though it sounds corny!). It allows me to set personal ambitions, andhopefully these will be attainable in the future’.Financial CircumstancesWe asked respondents to comment on their satisfaction with present financialcircumstances. Just under half claimed that they were satisfied [47.5%] [see TableSeven] with comments suggesting that these graduates had been able to land in stableand reasonably well-remunerated careers such as teaching or certain specialistpositions within the Health Service. One former student who trained to be a lawyercommented: ‘My current position is financially rewarding and my future earningpotential is excellent. However, the financial benefits are sometimes counterbalancedby stress and long hours’. In one case a respondent who had secured asenior management job with an international NGO simply wrote ’35,000 pa’, makingthe point, no doubt, that his salary exceeded that of most of the people who taughthim. For others, it was made clear that their satisfaction was not down to the amountof money they earned but to the satisfaction that they gained from the job. As onelocal authority road safety technician commented: ‘My current salary is well belowthat of a graduate, although I have sacrificed the "average salary" for a job that Ienjoy doing, which is more important to me than money - obviously if I had both thenthat would be absolutely satisfactory’. Such sentiments were particularly evidentamongst those who had taken up work in the voluntary sector.As one might imagine, the 52.5% who were not satisfied were more fulsome in theircomments. These respondents identified reasons for their dissatisfaction which fellinto three categories. First, there was a group who had gone into the Health Serviceand the public sector who complained bitterly about general pay, terms andconditions. Several commented that their responsibilities were far in excess of whatthey were in fact paid to do and progression was either slow or non-existent. Forexample, a senior staff nurse in a coronary care unit commented: ‘I have an extremelyresponsible position; diagnosing, prescribing and administering drugs to patientswho have had a heart attack. Financially no reflection of this responsibility.’ Thesecond category had found themselves in jobs that, even though they were perhapsreasonably remunerated, were short-term and did not inspire confidence in longerterm stability. The third category were those who had gone into further training andwho had as a result begun to run up even more debt. Respondents from each of thesecategories passed comment that the presence of substantial under-graduate debt was acontinuing feature of their financial dissatisfaction.TABLE SEVEN: Satisfied with Current Position in Financial Terms?Frequency Percentyes 56 47.5no 62 52.518Total 118 100.0Future Career ProspectsAsked about how future career prospects were viewed, 72% [n=84] responded thatthey were satisfied [Table Eight]. As in the earlier question regarding personaldevelopment, there was a good deal of optimism expressed regarding work currentlyundertaken and/or the prospect of future development therein. Respondents referredto development opportunities that were employer-led as well as to personal initiatives.Among those who answered negatively, the sources of disenchantment were similar tothose rehearsed in the earlier questions about finance and personal development, suchas, limited options in the job, responsibility without remuneration and unpredictabilityof short term contracts.TABLE EIGHT: Future prospectsFrequency Percentyes 84 72no 33 28Total 117 100.0Usefulness of Human Sciences in Securing EmploymentTable Nine below indicates whether or not graduates thought their Human Sciencesdegree had been an asset in securing employment. The majority [80%] felt that it had.Clearly, where graduates were seeking employment in what might be broadlyconceived as human services, the degree was deemed to have been relevant in a widerange of ways. Some students were able to make this connection quite explicitly:‘Yes, the philosophy of occupational therapy is very close to anthropology. My healthand human sciences degree provided a sound base on which to develop/train as anoccupational therapist, particularly phenomenology and holism’, and another whomade the link between her work and ‘understanding of people, particularly in relationto ethnicity and culture. I feel confident about my knowledge gained on the humansciences degree’. Others highlighted the link from the employer’s viewpoint: ‘Theanthropology perspective is keenly sought in health related areas’ and ‘I gainedemployment with a Child Protection Unit almost immediately after graduating.During my interview my Human Sciences degree was one of the subjects I was mostasked about’. Some respondents pointed out how their anthropology had been used inpractical ways in the process of securing employment: ‘Certainly: knowledge fromanthropology assisted in interview processes and current employment’ or ‘Thediversity of the modules [studied on the course] has enabled me to develop a largerange of skills, many of which I had to use at interview’. Rather more perceptivelyone graduate pointed out: ‘I think it marks me as "different" from other applicants andmaybe it helps interviewers remember me. Most people haven't a clue what itis/means’. In similar vein, another suggested that: ‘A degree in any subject will getyou employment. The positive aspects to human sciences are that you don't get19pigeon-holed into the type of employment dictated by your degree (unlike say,engineering) and almost every job requires a knowledge of people’.TABLE NINE: Was Human Sciences Useful in Enabling You to Secure Employment?Frequency Percentyes 86 80no 21 20Total 107 100.0Where the employment in question was of a more general nature the degree was muchmore apt to be seen as an indicator of competence and ability. Positive responsesidentified Human Sciences as a useful adjunct to gaining a degree qualification: thus,in the words of one respondent, it was ‘not the human sciences degree per se [thathelped to secure employment], however I have found that degree status has been ofbenefit to selling my ability to employers and subsequent discussions as to the contentof my degree have added depth to people's view of me’ or ‘I think any degree is usefulin securing employment, however the HS degree aided my personal developmentsignificantly. The study methods used prepare you more for a serious job than theusual cramming and exams. I have developed the skill of being able to think logicallyand communicate with team members’. Amongst those who were more mixed in theirresponse was one student who subsequently went on to study law: ‘Yes and no! Icould not have become an advocate without specific professional qualifications andso in that sense my degree was not directly relevant. However, the class of my degreewhich I attribute to my love of the subject and a team of motivated and engagedlecturers certainly assisted me in the job market’. Third, there were those who, whilsthappy to have a degree, saw little benefit in it having been in Human Sciences: ‘Iregret to admit this - either a vocational degree or work experience is all that mattersin business’ or, in another instance, ‘It’s been the most useless thing I’ve ever done inmy life [although I’m glad I have a degree per se]’.A point made by at least two respondents highlighted the importance of volunteerwork in addition to formal degree qualifications: ‘Whilst I have found my degreeuseful in my career, my employment arose from my volunteering and was not takeninto account for either my volunteering or paid employment’, and ‘Before I leftuniversity I had secured employment as a social worker for asylum seekers. I dobelieve that my degree was relevant but believe that the main factor in securing myposition was the fact that I had done a lot of voluntary work with refugees and asylumseekers whilst at university’ . In the highly competitive raising of the employmentstakes graduates are increasingly thinking in terms of a degree-plus – experience,placement, employer in-put etc. Crucial in this regard is volunteering, which formany of our respondents features as an essential ‘foot in the door’.Employer’s Interest in Degree SubjectJust over two-thirds [67%] of respondents reported that their employers wereinterested in the subject of their degree [Table Ten]. As with the previous question,the type of employment being sought appeared significant in determining the answer.20Where employers were looking for applicants with good ‘people skills’ the links werereadily evident: ‘Since my employers were looking for a person who had knowledgeof people as well as someone who could interact with them, they were very interestedin the subject of my degree’, and in another instance ‘within this field of training, the"human" element has always sparked interest and led to discussion (anddebate!).They have been interested in the topics I studied and how my skills can beapplied to a working environment’. One particular aspect of employer interest arisesbecause anthropology is a little out of the ordinary and does seem to offer somethingthat other disciplines do not: ‘Each interview panel has shown curious interest in theanthropological view’ or ‘Over the past 2 years I have had to liaise a lot with localmidwives, community workers and Pakistani Women's Centre officials for my currentresearch. I have discovered that many of these groups are very interested in mybackground and how often many anthropologists are aware of the intricacies ofcommunity life. Many practitioners do not share the same issues of sensitivity andconfidentiality’. Other respondents reported a healthy interest in anthropology butwith qualification: ‘Yes - but often required some explanation. Eg. putting "appliedanthropology" in brackets after it on CVs etc’ or ‘Very much so, once it wasexplained to them!’ or ‘Always look surprised when you say "medical anthropology",then you explain and they turn to being interested. However, one of the commonestresponses of employers was indifference, particularly in circumstances where the jobinvolved was of a more general nature. This was evident from comments such as:‘only on a chatty level’, ‘never been asked about it at all’ and ‘"What did you study?"- a common question, more getting to know you than an intrinsic interest in thesubject’. For others, there was an element of surprise and frustration at the extent ofignorance at employers who did not seem to know what anthropology is: ‘They don'tknow what it is. Even when you explain that it's "anthropology", they look at youblankly. They think it's some airy-fairy course and would probably prefer anEconomics degree or something’ or ‘If I say I did Human Sciences, people don't knowwhat that entails. If I say anthropology, they look even more baffled’.TABLE TEN: Were Employers Interested in the Subject of Your Degree?Frequency Percentyes 75 67no 37 33Total 112 100.0Issues of presentation are clearly important for Human Sciences graduates andarguably they face a double challenge in this regard. They must not only explain whatHuman Sciences is, but also what anthropology is. Some respondents found this to bea positive and constructive challenge in that it gave them an opportunity to sellthemselves and their degree, and they did so, it would seem, to good effect. Forothers the task of explaining to an uninterested employer who may have only beenconcerned with someone who could get a job done proved to be a little morediscomfiting for applicants.Having One’s Time Over Again21Responses to the crucial question of whether graduates would have chosen the samedegree if they had their time over again, were extremely positive with 84% saying thatthey would [Table Eleven].TABLE ELEVEN: Would you do the Same Degree Again?Frequency Percentyes 94 84no 18 16Total 112 100.0Many of the comments reported by respondents give an impression of the positiveengagement with the Human Sciences programme: ‘Loved it. Had I been asked towrite my own degree course I would have come up with something very similar’,‘Absolutely. Its value has been incalculable both in my professional career and on apersonal level’, ‘The teaching and course content was always of a very high standard.Support was always available when you had any problems’, ‘No regrets at all. Iwould choose exactly the same options - and would still wish I had been able tochoose more’ and ‘It took me until my third year to really "get" anthropology, but Iloved the subject and the course. Others highlighted the practical value of the coursein their working lives: ‘I have always wanted to work with people so my humansciences degree was extremely relevant for what I wanted to do. Whilst inemployment there were numerous times when the skills I had learned during mydegree were beneficial, i.e., I conducted research concerning parents' attendance atchild protection conferences’, ‘It was extremely interesting and taught me a lot, notleast how to work with different people and how to manage and plan big projects.The different style of reading matter also developed my interest in topics which Ihadn't previously considered’ and ‘Health and human sciences lends itself eloquentlyand appropriately to my current field of work. It has helped close what is sometimescalled the "theory-practice gap". For others the encounter with anthropology clearlyhad a much more profound and personal impact: ‘Changed my way of thinking andlife!’, ‘Loved the course and gained a lot of knowledge and personal development’,‘The degree helped me to be who I am today and where I am today, both of which, Ithink, are quite OK, you know’. ‘I enjoyed my degree very much. It has helped me inthe way I think about things, I used to act before I thought and now I don't. Myunderstanding of different cultures surprises people. I still read anthropology booksand journal articles’ and ‘What I learned during my degree has provided me withinspiration for further research directly related to motherhood. I am my child's firstteacher and I feel a huge responsibility to do this "work" to the best of my ability.Unlikely - but true, HHS made me a better parent! I would not practice co-sleeping,in-arms parenting, extended breast-feeding or be as interested in other health issues(vax, etc) if I had not completed my BSc’. Amongst some of the younger studentshowever, the realisation that they were being treated to something special came a littletoo late: ‘And I would put more effort into my studies now than perhaps I did as anaïve 18-year-old… the benefit of hindsight!’ and ‘I would [do the same degreeagain] but I am a "late developer", and feel that I could gain so much more if I wereto do it again now.22In other cases the response was positive but questions had subsequently arisen when itcame to practical application: ‘I enjoyed my time studying at Stockton and thought thedegree was excellent. The harsh reality is that it has done little for me despiteachieving a 2:1. Employers seem to be more concerned with employing graduates ofmore "commercially minded" subjects’ or ‘It totally changed my perspective on theworld, I find my friends from the course are the only ones you can have a really goodanthropological debate with. One of the best decisions I ever made, just don't knowwhat to do with it’.Among the 16% who would not opt to do the degree again the dominant reason wasthat of vocational relevance. Given their time again, these respondents would not takean anthropology degree but would go directly to a degree linked to a professionalqualification: ‘I would have done a degree in social work - something vocational’,‘Would probably have picked a more "vocational" subject’ and ‘I think I would havechosen a more work related degree, e.g. nursing/social work’. Finally, there were thesmall minority of students for whom the degree did not go down well at all: ‘It's anarty farty waste of time subject with no core - everyone scoffs at it - the only savinggrace is I can say I did it at Durham, and even then I can't mention Stockton’.The Usefulness of My DegreeRespondents were asked how useful different aspects of their degree had proved to bein their working life. Responses were ranked according to a five-point scale inrelation to the following aspects of the degree:__General social skills acquired as being part of university life [socskills]__Appreciation of scope and complexity of human diversity [humdiv]__Computing skills [comp]__Opportunity to carry an in-depth study of an academic discipline [indepthstud]__Report writing [repskill]__Basic research skills [resskill]__General confidence building [conf]__Communication skills [comm.]__Numerical and statistical skills [numstat]__Awareness of other cultures and societies [othcult]__Working in groups [gpwk]It is clear from Table Twelve that the majority of students found these elements oftheir degrees either ‘very useful’ or ‘invaluable’. Indeed, with the exception ofnumerical and statistical skills, all the items identified had a mean score greater thanfour. The most useful thing taken from the degree was an ‘appreciation of scope andcomplexity of human diversity’ which scored 4.4. This was closely followed by an‘awareness of other cultures and societies’ [4.3] and communication skills [4.3].Numerical and statistical skills had the lowest mean score at 3.4. This score is initself surprisingly high given the perennial complaints that staff encounter in relationto this aspect of the course.TABLE TWELVE: Which Parts of your Degree did you Find Useful in your WorkingLife?23SocskillHumdiv compIndepthstudyRepskillResskill conf commNumstatOthcultGpwk1. not useful at all 6 2 1 6 5 6 3 2 8 3 52. not very useful 9 3 6 8 5 5 5 4 26 7 83. useful 23 15 24 27 23 15 25 22 36 12 194. very useful 29 27 32 28 36 36 33 28 27 28 295. invaluable 50 74 56 49 50 58 54 62 21 70 59Mean Score 4.1 4.4 4.2 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.1 4.3 3.4 4.3 4.1Knowledge and PracticeThe Knowledge and Practice module was offered to students as a year three, 10 creditmodule [i.e.duration of one semester8]. A total of 68% [81] of those responding to thesurvey had opted to take the module. Those who did take the module were askedwhether it had met its aims of providing support and guidance in applying theiranthropological knowledge to a future career. The items we asked them to rank wereas follows:__Gave useful ideas for applying my degree after graduation [kpapplic]__Gave me a critical understanding of the nature of applied anthropology[kpund]__Provided useful practical information when it came to searching for jobs toapply for [kppractinf]__Enabled me to reflect upon my personal development [kppersdev]__Inspired confidence to use my degree in the world of work [kpconf]__Gave me practical skills that increased my chance of successful jobapplications [kpjpbapp].Most of the respondents found the module moderately useful with all the mean scoresfalling between 3.3 and 3.9. [Table Thirteen]. The most successful aspect of themodule was in providing students with the opportunity to reflect on personaldevelopment [3.9]. This aspect of the module is evident in comments such as: ‘Theability to express concerns and worries and get answers’, ‘The opportunity to reviewmy own learning and development in a safe and supported environment’ and ‘Mainlyhelped with personal confidence when applying and searching for jobs; very helpful’or, put rather more colloquially: ‘Overall confidence to "blag it" sometimes’.Personal support was closely followed by the provision of practical support [3.8].This aspect of the module drew by far the most written comments such as: ‘Thechance to look at a wide range of jobs’, ‘How to "sell" your degree’, ‘I still use theCV as a basis for the one I use now’, ‘CV constructing - wish that more time wasavailable for restructuring CV. Would like ideas on really pulling to bits differentmodules from degree and looking at how to sell the skills and knowledge toemployers’, ‘I applied to the Economic Social Research Council and the module8 Initially, University College Stockton, as it was then, operated with a semestersystem. In 2002, the two campuses harmonised academic years and modular structurein the form of six year-long modules per academic year. In 2003-04 Knowledge andPractice was delivered as a year long, 20 credit module and re-titled ‘ApplyingAnthropology: From Knowledge to Practice’.24helped me in the application process. Even though I was unsuccessful, the process ofapplying helped me gather thoughts and ideas for research’ and ‘Basically having towork out how degree was relevant for certain employment in project for module hasbeen invaluable for applying degree to different situations (ie. Interviews,employment.)’.The least successful item was in providing students with ideas for applying for jobs[3.3]. Rather disappointingly, the module did not elicit a particularly positiveresponse in relation to understanding the nature of applied anthropology.TABLE THIRTEEN: Was the Module Successful on Providing Support and Guidance?kpapplic kpund kppracti kppersde kpconf kpjobappnot at all 7 4 9 5 8 4not much 14 17 10 7 10 12moderately so 26 22 18 16 15 14much so 15 22 25 18 26 20very much so 18 17 18 36 22 31Mean Score 3.3 3.4 3.4 3.9 3.5 3.8Generally it would seem that the module was not quite so well-received as the moregeneral aspects of the programme. However, in as much as it was successful it helpedin terms of practical support and was not particularly remembered for the moreintellectual and theoretical aspects of applied anthropology. The limited success ofthe module could be put down to methodological problems such as difficulty of recall,with many in the earlier cohorts stating that they could not remember the moduleparticularly well. However, a more substantive issue arose out of the need to balancethe content of the module such so that it appealed both to those who had little idea ofwhat they would do after their degree as well as to those who already had a clear idea.Among the latter, comments such as the following were made: ‘Being a maturestudent I had a very good idea about what I wanted to do and how to go about it’ and‘I didn't find the Knowledge and Practice module that useful. It didn't really allow meto look further than the career in health care and it would have been more usefullooking at a career which suited me’. For those in the former category the stepsinvolved in moving from knowledge to practice were not spelt out nearly explicitlyenough. It may therefore have been that in certain respects the module fell betweentwo stools: not specific enough for some and too specific for others.A further issue raised by at least one respondent concerns concerned the way in whichthe whole relationship to the world of work was presented. As enthusiasts for theapplication of anthropology it may have been that tutors were over- optimistic, as onerespondent implied: ‘In reality, finding a job is much harder than was made out inthis module’. The reality of finding employment in a market saturated with graduatesis a harsh one and this is particularly so in a region where unemployment is high andthe local economy is under-developed following the demise of heavy industry andmanufacturing.25Finally, one aspect of the module which that did work exceptionally well was thesession in which recent graduates are were invited back to talk about how they usedtheir anthropology in their subsequent employment. This exercise seems to haveworked well for the providers and consumers, as the following comments illustrate: ‘Igave a talk (with a couple of other ex-students) to new students of this module - Ifound this useful as it enabled me to acknowledge how much I had done since leavinguniversity’ and one respondent reported that what she had enjoyed most about themodule was ‘the classes in which past students spoke about their career paths sinceleaving university’.Vocational Support.The question of vocational support for Human Sciences’ students is a complex oneand at the outset, interpretations of responses to this question need to be qualified bythe fact that vocational support has improved massively over the ten years that theprogramme has been in existence. For the first cohort to graduate in 1995, vocationalsuch support was virtually non-existent apart from what the Knowledge and Practicemodule had to offer. As one student commented: ‘Careers guidance at the end of theHS degree was somewhat limited in 1995, but then most things were then anyway. Itrust it’s improved since then’. Since that time, support offered to students atStockton has progressively improved as efforts have been made to equalise careersadvisory in-put across the two campuses. Queen’s campus now has a very active andwell-run sub-office of the central Durham University Careers Advisory Service. Thedevelopment of this service has enabled a more appropriate division of labour todevelop between the tutors delivering Knowledge and Practice and the CareersAdvisory Service staff. Provision of better central support has meant that tutors canfocus more on the anthropological issues of applying knowledge to practice withoutthe need to be drawn into the very necessary practical business of preparing studentsfor their next step after graduation.Notwithstanding the changing environment in which Knowledge and Practice hasbeen delivered, we specifically asked whether vocational support could bestrengthened through Human Sciences modules. Some 60% [n=57] felt that it couldbe improved [see Table Fourteen]. However, the comments regarding vocationalguidance were mostly very positive, with the majority commenting favourably on thesupport received. A small minority felt that they had either failed to seize theopportunities they had had whilst at university or had simply not noticed that therewas any vocational support at all. The question of how the support might be improvedproduced by far the most written responses with many useful and perceptivesuggestions being made.The most common suggestion made by graduates was for more linkages withpotential employers, particularly in the third year of the degree. The reason for this ishinted at by one student who pointed out that ‘you concentrate so much on gettingthrough to the end it all takes some adjustment after graduation’. In other words, theswitch from the somewhat introverted world of under-graduate study to the ‘real’world of working and seeking work is one that can prove stressful, challenging and asevere shock to the system. The prescription given by many students to make thistransition less demanding and more successful was, in effect, to blur the boundariesby mixing, in various ways, the two worlds. For example, suggestions such as: ‘Build26better links with local and national employers’ and ‘More job seminars with actualemployers’ were common. Others envisaged a more substantive involvement withfuture employers through work-experience schemes in which the student stepped intothe world of work: ‘Work placement in diverse areas, anywhere where skills andknowledge may be developed and honed in readiness for a career’ or ‘Some kind ofinternational experience or fieldwork experience in the UK would place students in astronger position than most’. Some took an even stronger line: ‘Work experience forapplied anthropology should be mandatory’. The pay-offs of work placements wasseen by some as directly linked to future employment prospects: ‘Students would gainpractical experience by applying their theoretical knowledge within the workplace.Once students have graduated, I am sure they would not find it difficult securingemployment in the relevant field’. Working in the other direction, some saw benefitsin bringing the world of work into the degree: ‘Perhaps more "outsider" input.Something like a careers fair with representatives from occupations where a degree inanthropology would be useful. (e.g. local government, tourism, museums, personnel)’and ‘More practically/vocationally based research projects/dissertations. Doing mydissertation based within NHS day hospitals was a real bonus to getting employmentwithin the NHS’.A further suggestion as to how the transition might be eased came from severalstudents who advocated what might be thought of as ‘buddying’ schemes in whichgraduates who have moved into employment are put in touch with under-graduates togive support and advice. For example, suggestions offered in this vein included: ‘ Amentoring system involving previous graduates who have done the degree and arenow working. This could be done via e-mail and link up any student with a particularinterest with someone in that field of work’ or ‘How about graduates like myself beingasked to give presentations to students (I have done this in past). Another idea is amentoring scheme where we as graduates are in contact with 3rd year studentshelping them through the transition from university to work or further study’.A second theme to emerge from respondents’ comments concerns the problem ofsupport in general and specific terms. As suggested above, some students come ontothe module with very clear vocational intentions and are looking for detailed careersguidance that assists them into very particular pathways. Others, and these areprobably in the majority, have only vague ideas of where they would like to be in fiveyears time and besides work undertaken on the module there is a considerable amountof careers advisory support needed to spell out the breadth of options available andwhere anthropology might reasonably expect to be applied. This opposition iscaptured neatly in the words of the following students:Here there are a considerable number of students who use a degree to opendoors for them and a smaller group specifically wanting to pursue ananthropologically specialised career. The largest number need help totranspose the theory into wider practices, rather than in a specialised way. Iwould have chosen a career in training earlier had my eyes been opened to howanthropology can benefit training practice.For those that require it, more guidance on how the skills learnt could beapplied to a business environment. I felt that just areas associated with Human27Sciences were focussed on, rather than offering a broader outlook for people,like myself, who had no idea what career they wanted.Help people to find a career path to aim to. I was more confused about whichcareer area to work in once I finished the course than when I started itFinally, students identified a variety of ways in which the practical support givenmight be strengthened around issues such as confidence-building, applying for jobs,conducting interviews and presenting oneself and one’s discipline as credibly aspossible to an employer. As one student put it: ‘Individual information could be givenon a one-to-one basis where someone could come up with a job advert they wereinterested in and "vocational support" could tell them how to apply what theyknew/had to get the job. It's about making the employer think you have what theywant, not necessarily what you have’. For students such as this it is clear that theemphasis is on how to get a job, an assumption that is often at odds with theorientation of tutors who are, if anything, more focused on the question of how to doa job.TABLE FOURTEEN: Do you Think Vocational Support Can be Improved?Frequency Percentyes 57 60no 39 40Total 96 100.0TimelinesIn an attempt to give depth to the inevitable ‘flatness’ of a survey of the kindundertaken, we asked respondents to provide in their questionnaire responses a briefaccount of what had happened since graduation. Drawing inspiration from ParticipantRural Appraisal techniques, we asked respondents to construct a visual representationof their experience in the form of a ‘timeline’ indicating high spots and low spots afterthey left University, as well as critical events that had happened [see Appendix Two,page 2 of questionnaire].As a ‘rough and ready’ indicator of whether graduates ended up being in a ‘better’position than when they graduated we began by considering whether they ended upabove, below or upon the line. The majority, 77% [n=82], reported that they hadreached a point where they were on the positive side of the line, and a further 18%[n=19] that they were on the line. Only 6% [n=6] reported that they found themselvesbelow. It is interesting to note that many graduates experienced a post-graduationdip. It would appear that, for many, the excitement and stimulation of being atuniversity and, to use the current jargon, a high ‘exit velocity’, were followed by adip in fortunes perhaps compounded by a move back with parents and/ or a period ofunemployment or sub-graduate level work. The timelines suggest that in time the28majority began to find their way forward in career terms. As we discuss below,however, some simply moved back into the same lifecourse trajectory that they werein before coming to university.In addition, to these general indications of well-being, the timelines also furnisheddetailed and useful biographical information concerning work, qualifications andpersonal circumstances over the period since graduation. On the basis of theinformation supplied by graduates in general and the timelines in particular we wereable to devise a four-fold classification as follows: ‘personal developers’,‘instrumentalists’, ‘bricoleurs’ and ‘stalled developers’. We were fortunate in thatsome additional funds were provided by C-SAP to carry out a small number ofinterviews to explore the timelines in greater depth and to consider in more detail theways that graduates have actually incorporated their experiences of anthropology intotheir subsequent working lives. Thus, having identified cases representative of ourclassification we were able to select particular graduates for a follow-up interview inwhich their timeline became the basis of a conversation which that enabled them toelaborate on their experiences. These interviews with BA students, nine in all, weretape-recorded and transcribed.9 Seven of the interviews have been used to developthe case studies reported below.The classification we devised for the timelines emerged out of some earlier and rathermore anecdotal work carried out with Human Sciences students. At that time it struckus that student responses to the Human Sciences programme might be thought of interms of three ‘ideal-typical orientations’(Coleman and Simpson 1999:4). Theseorientations were characterised as ‘personal development’, ‘instrumental knowledge’and ‘spiritual bricolage’. In very crude terms these labels reflected a class basis forstudents’ interest in the university experience. ‘Personal developers’ tended to be theworking class, mature students who in Bernstein’s terms were looking for a key tounlock the ‘restricted codes’ that had characterised their earlier educational and workexperience (Bernstein et al. 1971). ‘Instrumentalists’ were often younger and middleclass, seeing a degree in any discipline as a required part of the transition intoadulthood and the means to progress into an unspecified career. Finally, ‘bricoleurs’consisted of the smaller group of middle-class students who enlisted theiranthropology as part of a more ambitious project of self-building, often combiningtheir academic interests with novel forms of therapy, spirituality and communitywork. Subsequently, we identified a fourth category – ‘stalled developers’. Thesegraduates had come to university with great expectations of personal and academicdevelopment, achieved their ambition in getting a degree, but then found themselvesback in the same employment circumstances as they began. For some this was notproblematic in that university was looked upon as a break or interlude from a moreestablished vocation. For others however, the move back into an all-too-familiarworld of sub-graduate employment was a source of deep resentment and frustration,and not least because of the long-term consequences of student-debt.In the section that follows, we have combined our classification of the timelines withthe interviews to produce seven case studies.Personal developers:9 We are grateful to Emma Gilberthorpe who carried out the interviews and later transcribed them.29Case study 1 -- Breaking the mouldMichael came onto the Human Sciences programme in his early twenties. Prior tothat he had worked in retail with the North-Eastern Co-op. He had little idea of thecontent of the degree and assumed it would be predominantly about human evolution.He enjoyed his time on the degree immensely and much to his surprise found thecontent to be much wider than he expected. He claimed that his encounter withanthropology ‘changed my way of thinking and my life’. However, upon graduationhe went back to his previous employers as a retail manager. This was a low point inMichael’s career as he felt that returning to his old employers suggested he had notprogressed in career terms at all. In any case, he was clear that this was not the kindof work that he wanted to do. By chance he met a girl doing a social work diplomaand upon reading the brochure for the course noticed that there was a comment by aformer student who had completed the diploma having come from a Human Sciencesbackground. The comment set Michael thinking about social work as an option andcoincided with the opening of a secure training centre for young people close to hishome. He applied for a job as a ‘care officer’ and was successful. The experience atthe secure unit was both challenging and salutary, particularly given that it coincidedwith the break-up of a relationship and a family bereavement. Working within asecure setting with young people with a range of behavioural and emotionaldifficulties was a stark initiation into working with young people: ‘Whatever I gothrough now, I know it can never be worse than what I went through there. It was amilestone in my life’. The experience of working in the unit made Michael clear thathe wanted to work with young people but in a way that was constructive andsupportive and not just ‘running around the floor and fighting with them all day’.After a year he successfully applied for a job in a local authority children’sassessment unit. This work is much more satisfying because he is able to buildrelationships with young people passing through the system. He has started up a verysuccessful angling project for 10-16 year olds. He finds this work deeply satisfyingbecause ‘you feel like you are making a difference everyday’. After four years at theassessment unit he is considering moving on, possibly with a view to being anoutdoors activities instructor for young people.Michael finds his anthropological training in anthropology useful in his current workin a number of ways. In particular, he has become aware of the extent to whichstereotypes abound in social work practice. This was brought home to him whenworking with the children of asylum seekers, about whom various assumptions weremade by other staff. Aspects of Michael’s degree come into effect when he is able tochallenge such stereotypes and ‘dispel some of the urban myths’ that are held aboutchildren from other cultures [for example, an Angolan child was to be excluded froma trip to the swimming baths because Africans have lower bone density and don’tfloat very well]. Michael pointed out that he often finds himself ‘at loggerheads’ withpeople who have come into youth work via the social work diploma. In this regard hewas critical of the fact that all his colleagues had ‘done cultural awareness’ but theresult was still a rather simplistic set of attitudes towards cultural difference and thebehaviour it engenders. Indeed, he was in the process of setting up a session for histeam in which issues of culture in relation to people’s perception would be explored.Michael also commented on the usefulness of IT and research skills in his current lineof work.30For Michael, the experience of studying Human Sciences at Stockton was a veryimportant one. Not only did it give him practical skills and intellectual insights thatenabled him to break out of a career in retail management, it also provided him with anetwork of friends to whom he is still very closely attached.Case study 2 -- Opening up new avenuesChristine came to University as a mature student with little idea of what anthropologywas but a clear intention that she would complete the degree as a mere stepping stoneto her lifelong ambition to be a primary school teacher or, failing that, a ‘time filler’before returning to her original work as a nurse in the NHS: ‘… actually thought thehuman sciences degree would be more related to the nursing I’d done in the past, butglad it wasn’t because I would have just stayed on that track’. She was unsure aboutthe course at first but was pleasantly surprised by what she encountered. Shegraduated aged 38 with Human Sciences BA [2:1]. At some point during the degree,Christine’s horizons were altered and she became interested in community work. Ongraduation she took a part-time job with the British Red Cross, working oncommunity development and new consultation initiatives. The experience gathered inthis post carried her onward and upward into a number of short contracts with localNGOs addressing issues of community participation/ empowerment and working indisadvantaged wards within the Borough. This work not only entailed working withthe communities but also gathering qualitative and quantitative data to supportapplications for funding applications to National and European sources.In her current post, Christine works as a development officer in the DemocraticServices Unit of her local Borough Council. This work entails consultation withcommunity groups and neighbourhood representatives as well as facilitating liaisonand communication between communities, agencies and service providers and localcouncillors. A major criticism that Christine expressed regarding her previousemployment was the short-term nature of the work undertaken which made any kindof planning difficult. The advantage of her present job is that because it has a degreeof stability, long-term planning is possible: ‘before I could never think beyond thenext six months’.Christine sees the anthropological knowledge and skills acquired on the degree ashaving been useful in almost every aspect of her working life. The degree providedher with the confidence to exercise choice and mobility in the local job market. Thiswas particularly important where ‘bad employment experiences’ were encounteredand there was felt to be a need to challenge situations that she felt were ethicallyproblematic: ‘a lot of the work I’ve done is involved with looking at communityidentity, other cultures, how people live, and also the statistical research skills whereI’ve been able to look at communities and make realistic decisions. In somesituations I would have just crumbled had I not done the degree course’. She foundparticipation in ‘analytical discussion groups’, doing presentations and anintroduction to participatory rural appraisal at university particularly useful, as theseare precisely the skills she needs to draw on in her professional capacity as acommunity development worker.31Christine would appear to be an excellent example of what the Human Sciencesprogramme set out to achieve at the Stockton Campus, namely, to attract local maturestudents, to introduce them to anthropology and return them to the local employmentmarket with enhanced knowledge, skills and confidence. Christine also pointed outthat having local graduates working on development issues was important in order toget away from the prevailing pattern of bringing in people based purely on their localknowledge and experience of working in areas of disadvantage. She feels that beingable to draw on a more theoretical background and having the ability to apply soundresearch skills and critical analysis allows local graduates to add another dimensionto that local knowledge, considerably increasing the effectiveness of communitydevelopment programmes. Christine also pointed out that having local graduatesworking on local development issues was important in order to get away from theprevailing pattern of bringing in people with academic qualifications but little by wayof local knowledge or credibility, both considered by her to be vital in effectivecommunity development programmes. In her view, prior to the opening of theStockton Campus there were very few local graduates working in Stockton. Now,however, Christine said that she regularly encounters Human Sciences graduates inher dealings with social workers, teachers in adult and specialist education andcommunity development workers.A further consequence of what might be thought of as a longer term urbanregeneration is that both Christine’s children have gone to University. She feels thatthis would not have been the case had she herself not gone when she did. It is perhapsof further note that one of her children elected to study anthropology at University.Again this was felt by Christine to have been a direct consequence of her own studiesand the fact that her daughter knew from an early age what anthropology is and whatanthropologists do.Instrumentalists:Case study 3 – A means to an endNick graduated in 1998 aged 23 with a BA in Human Sciences [2:1]. His universitycareer began with a false start in that he began an Environmental Sciences degree butfailed his first year exams. He transferred to Human Sciences and began again in yearone. On his own admission, the decision to transfer did not come from a burning needto study Human Sciences so much as a desire to stay with the friends he had made atthe Campus: ‘I’m really glad I’ve done it but at the time my intentions weren’t thebest’. Once on the degree Nick found that he was interested in the content and as hecommented ‘as soon as I started I thought, this is right, this is good’.Upon graduation Nick did ‘agency work’ in order to keep his bills paid and to avoidhaving periods of inactivity on his CV. A significant development in his career cameabout when he took a job as a road safety technician in a local governmentdepartment. Even though Nick feels this work is not particularly well paid, he reallyenjoys it and particularly the parts where he has to go into schools to do road safetypresentations and organise quizzes. As he pointed out: ‘I’ve waited five years tryingto find this job and now I’ve got it, it’s worth the wait’.32As in the previous two case studies, Nick highlighted ‘learning about difference’ as akey skill that he had acquired on the course: ‘Working for the local government andespecially in working in the inner city area where I work as it [Human Sciences]gives you a basic knowledge about all the differences that exist in society and givesyou a head start in dealing with them’ and, later on in the interview, ‘Localgovernment are really up on equality and understanding diversity and people which isthe main thing we learnt on the degree’. He also identified the confidence that thecourse gave him to be able to do the work in schools and to deal with situations hefaces as a local government employee.Although, Nick is not optimistic about future plans for promotion or careerdevelopment he is content with his current job.Case study 4 – A useful degree to haveDanielle graduated in 1996 aged 21 with BA Human Sciences [2:2]. There followed adefinite low period in which she moved back to her parents’ home and was unable tosecure a graduate level position. However, after a brief period of unemployment shetook a job as an assistant with a mobile phone retailer but, on taking the job, made itclear to her manager that she wanted to progress above the shop floor. She seizedwhatever training was on offer and was able to secure promotion to deputy storemanager and soon after became a branch manager. After that she identified a trainingposition within the parent company of the mobile phone retailers and thereaftersecured a permanent position as a training manager with a brief for training anddevelopment within the organisation. Thus, she began to focus her ambitions onbecoming a Training and Development Manager.The degree subject was not thought to have been relevant to her employers although‘the human element has sparked interest’. Danielle has been able to make somedirect connections between her work as a trainer and her own training inanthropology. For example, ‘participant observation and people doing thingsdifferently to how they say they are doing them’ struck her as an interestingconnection between her work as a training manager and her anthropology training.The fact that her degree also contained group work and presentations was also ofpractical application in her present line of work. However, the anthropologicalcontent of her degree has not really been of great significance in her work and she feltthat the degree was primarily about ‘opening doors’.As in the previous case studies, Danielle’s story brings out the ‘default’ setting foranthropology. It was not what she intended to do but felt that it looked interesting.She thought it might be more psychological but was pleased to discover that therewere altogether different perspectives involved in the study of anthropology; this sheonly realised after she had started the course. She also realised after starting thecourse that there was no clear end product or career route. She expressed some regretover this absence of a sense of application because if it had been clearer then shethought that she might have gone at her studies with a little more determination. Itturns out that she is only now that she is she making connections between aspects ofthe course such as ‘the participant observation stuff’ and her current vocation ratherthan these being visible from the beginning. Indeed, after the course Danielle finds33herself passionate about anthropology and an advocate for the discipline both in herwork and outside it.As for Mike in the previous case study, Danielle’s experience of university wasprofoundly transforming. However, this was not simply down to encountering withan unfamiliar discipline. University was the first time away from home and as shecommented: ‘‘… bonds and friends are made – the social side of it was critical. Theway that the university enabled us all to live together and the strong support wereceived to find accommodation meant that those bonds were sealed and stuckaround’.Bricoleurs:Case study 5 – Endless insightTanya graduated in 1995 with a BA in Human Sciences [2:1]. Throughout the degreeher abiding interest was how to relate anthropology to issues of personaldevelopment. Not surprisingly she opted for a career in psychotherapy and has takennumerous courses since graduating. The rather cerebral and costly pursuit of trainingin this field has had to be balanced with the pragmatics of earning a living as a lowpaidcareworker. For Tanya, the study of anthropology was but one element in alonger-term quest for self-knowledge and spiritual insight applied in the service ofhelping others. The degree was seen by her as being crucial to her personaldevelopment and many of the skills imparted, such as the case study method,interviewing and the management of cultural differences are seen by her as essentialto a psychotherapist’s practice. When fully qualified she hopes to set up in privatepractice. In 2001 she met and married her partner who shares Tanya’s interests inhealing and personal development. He is currently undertaking a lengthy training inacupuncture and Chinese medicine.Case study 6 -- Making your own jobBecky graduated in 1999 aged 24 with BA Human Sciences degree [2:1]. In herthird year she did a dissertation working with children on the theme of ‘NorthAmerican Indian culture’. In this work she explored the relationship between whiteCanadian and First Nation people in a small village in northern Canada with specificreference to the concept of ‘difference’. From this experience, Becky developed aninterest in developing links between anthropology and education; what she referred toas an ‘anthropology for children concept’. Her first venture in this direction was anattempt to start a business making tepees for ‘living in and playing in’. She obtainedsupport from the Prince’s Trust and spent a year developing what has gone on to be asuccessful business. From this work she began to develop ways of working moredirectly with children through workshops organised around the creation of tepees andhead-dresses. The business developed in various directions including the manufactureof tepees and soon acquired a professional canvas producer [who usually made lorrytarpaulins] to assist. After two years she decided to move on from the business,having acquired a lot of practical experience and skills. Indeed, her abilities inadministration and accounting had enabled her to work part-time for a financier. Intime he became interested in her ideas about education and anthropology and offeredto pay her a wage for six months in order to undertake research into products that34might then be made available to children to educate them about other cultures. Partway into this work, however, she ran into some ‘ethical’ problems as the intentionseemed to be to market ‘human values and experiences’, for example, by distributinga doll that represented North American Indians. The problem of stereotyping waspartially obviated by developing the notion of a ‘persona doll’; an individual personrather than a cultural composite. Indeed, Becky was keen to develop dolls for use inthe classroom that had not only a personality but their own individual biography thatteachers might draw on when using the doll in the classroom. With the help of alottery grant Becky undertook a series of interviews with people from differentcultural backgrounds, and whose lives were to form the basis of each doll’s ‘persona’.Reports were produced in relation to each doll and the project was then taken intoschools to be piloted. In the course of this work, Becky came to realise that in orderto take the work further she needed to have a proper training and decided to obtain aprofessional teacher training qualification. This she did as a school-basedqualification for which she was paid a wage rather than as a college-based Post-Graduate Certificate. At the time of the interview she had just acquired qualifiedteacher status [QTS].In her questionnaire return Becky described herself as a ‘multi-cultural educationproject co-ordinator’ and it is clear that she wishes to develop this area of expertise inher new role as a teacher. Her background in anthropology is felt to be crucial in thisas well as her previous roles: ‘… the degree makes you think more broadly aboutold and different topics. That always influences what I’m doing. It’s helped me bemore creative and inventive. The philosophical debates I found fascinating. To thinkaround an argument in different ways helps you later on in life when you’re having tosee things from different points of view and, working with different people, it helpsyou to see where they are coming from, or think about different arguments that youmight make for or against something. It helps you understand.’Becky was a little different from the graduates in the previous case studies in that shehad travelled extensively before coming to University. Nonetheless, she was alsosomewhat unclear about the degree would entail and in particular when it came to the‘theoretical side’.Speaking of her degree Becky comments: ‘I think it has given me a broad knowledge– it is quite a competitive market, charity development work, so it is more difficult tofind a relevant job. I have had to create my own’. However, it is clear from herreflections on her success to date that she is single-minded, a very positive thinker andprepared to work hard and take chances in order to realise her goals. This orientationwas clearly not just something that emerged from the experience of the HumanSciences degree but was there from the start enabling her to maximise the benefits ofher university education from the very outset.Stalled developmentIn our view, those in this category constitute an intriguing and worrying output of theHuman Sciences programme. On the one hand these students began as a primarytarget of widening participation policies. Yet, whilst they appear to have beenrelatively successful in their university careers, their degree has done little by way ofadvancement and indeed may have had a retrograde effect. This is particularly likely35where the student is mature, has dependents and has to take employment of any kindas a matter of economic survival. Our survey identified a handful of students who fallinto this category but we know through informal contact with former students thatthere are numerous others. It is likely that we will not be able to quantify thiscategory as they are not only the most difficult to track but also the ones least likely torespond. A rather more detailed follow-up on the consequences of ‘widenedparticipation’ as a result of this and other degree programmes would therefore seem tobe imperativeCase study 7 - Landing below the line?Nick had worked most of his life in the chemical industry before he experiencedredundancy and the need to retrain. He also experienced a ‘messy divorce’ which sethis self-confidence back considerably. His own assessment of his situation was asfollows: ‘I spent fifteen years working with test-tubes and stuff but none of that wasrelating to people so my inter-personal skills were very poor’. He secured a place onthe BA Human Sciences and graduated in 2002 with a 2:1. He was then 35 years old.After graduating he undertook three weeks teaching English in Somerset and thentried to gain further experience as a volunteer but he could not find anyone to takehim on. Attempts to move onto TEFL and PGCE courses after graduation provedunsuccessful. In all of these ventures he felt his age was against him. To his greatdisappointment a period of unemployment followed. This lasted for one year when hetook a job as a bacon packer in a meat factory. This job brought him an ‘adequate’wage but also a great sense of frustration that he was unable to apply knowledge andexperience from his Human Sciences degree. He was somewhat cheered, however, bythe fact that one of his colleagues at the factory had a PhD in marine biology.Eventually, he was able to get out of the bacon factory when a job came up as aresearch analyst examining radio-active samples from oil-wells. He needed no furthertraining for this work as he already had a degree in chemistry [previously obtainedover nine years on day release from his employer] and the new work was not verydifferent from his earlier work in the industry. However, he now found himselfworking on precarious short-term contracts with his only hope of stability andpromotion lying in a further qualification in chemistry.In his current work there is little context for his knowledge of anthropology to findany outlet whatsoever. He finds that the practical skills gained on the degree such asdoing presentations, writing skills and group work are invaluable. The degree alsogave him a great deal of confidence in himself but he is disappointed that much ofwhat he studied on the degree has no outlet in his current career. Despite orconceivably because of his current situation, Nick described his period studyingHuman Sciences as ‘the best three years of my life’. Fundamental, to this evaluationof his experience are the friends he made and the experiences he had [notably abErasmus visit to the Czech Republic] which he hopes will stay with him throughouthis life.Biographical factors and employment.36Consideration of the timelines and comments made elsewhere in the survey point to arange of variables that influence each individual’s progression into employment andthe levels of satisfaction they subsequently experience. These observations highlightthe importance of considering the pattern of career development over the longerperiod and moving beyond a simple, linear, ‘degree = employment’ equation [cfJenkins et al 2001]. The experience of these graduates reveals a complex interactionbetween personal and employment variables rather than an attempt to separate out apure strain of biographical experience to do with employment. Rather they weavetogether education, life and work in more complex narratives of the life-course.Likewise, many of the mature students in the sample were in employment beforecoming onto the degree and already had useful configurations of qualifications andpractical experience. A degree enabled them to re-enter their previous profession butwith knowledge, skills and confidence to advance into more senior positions. Forexample, former nurses were able to return to the NHS to take up more seniorpositions in nursing, training or administration. From a career perspective, we aredealing in such cases with an ongoing narrative of personal development and not onethat starts with graduation. It is essential that this fact is recognised in theconstruction of careers advice and support for mature students. This should not onlybe done in acknowledgement of the adult-learner but also because a well-craftednarrative of this experience is vital when it comes to these individuals presentingthemselves as fully rounded graduates.However, it would appear that finding the right niche after graduation, particularly foryounger students, was something that took rather longer to identify and settle in tothan they anticipated. Indeed, the transition from under-graduate to potentialemployee was one that most found extremely stressful. As suggested earlier, thetimelines of many students exhibited a post-university dip; a period of dissatisfactionfollowing close upon the ‘high’ of graduation. The ‘dip’ is characterised by periodsin part-time and unstable jobs. What is crucial here is that some students in effect revisittheir degree and re-evaluate their position as a prelude to moving forward in amore planned way. Others seem unable to do this and remain locked in sub-degreelevel employment. Difficulty managing this transition may explain why it is that someof the graduate destination surveys indicate such high levels of unemployment.Understanding the move into employment may take longer than the one- year snapshotsuch surveys usually report. As one person put it: ‘it has taken me four years tofind this job but, hey, I have another 37 years to enjoy it’.But, having survived the ‘dip’, the accounts of our respondents indicate improvementin circumstances. Yet, it would seem that very few are able to settle into a permanent‘job for life’ after leaving university and there is much evidence of movement in andout of post-graduate courses and qualifications. We see how, in line with Jenkins,Jones and Ward [2001], the value or otherwise of the degree is constantly re-assessedin line with changing circumstances. Consistent with these observations is a need to‘keep the cv moving’. Some jobs provide structure in which to do this but where thisis not the case, there is an added strain upon the individual’s working life; it is not justa question of working but continually striving to re-create oneself at the same time.Although the graduates in our sample have tended to move between occupations andactivities, most have stayed in the North-East – probably not a common pattern for the37average 21-year-old graduate, but one that appears to be particularly suited to thecircumstances of mature students who have dependents and, perhaps, stable, longtermaccommodation.Conclusion: Anthropological knowledge and skill in relation to employment.In this report, we have attempted to sketch in some of the connections between anundergraduate degree in anthropology and subsequent experience of the world ofwork. Our findings report a powerful endorsement for the pedagogical strategiesadopted within the Human Sciences Programme in general as well as in relation to themore specific approaches to applied anthropology. However, the data also enable usto draw some broader inferences about anthropology and employment. Given the riseof vocationalism in the evaluation of degrees, both by consumers and funders alike,further critical reflection on such issues is vital.In most cases, it would seem that respondents to this survey have deployed theiranthropological knowledge and skills to very good effect. The survey would suggestthat the Human Sciences programme provides an excellent mix of practical skills andintellectual content, and an all round preparation for a range of occupations and futurecareers. This could no doubt be said of most other anthropology degrees in the UK,but falling rolls would tend to suggest that this message is not getting through tostudents contemplating their degree options. It is striking to note that all thoseinterviewed had but a hazy conception of what the study of anthropology actuallyentailed but were pleasantly surprised at the breadth and richness of the subject.Ironically, this observation is made at a time when there is every indication that whatone might have thought of as the typical constituency of anthropology is opting formore individualistic and quantitative disciplines such as psychology. Furthermore,there has been a significant shift towards explicitly vocational courses such as teachertraining, computing, business studies and health-related courses. All of this isregrettable in that the considerable promise that anthropology offers to students isperhaps being obscured by a rather short-sighted and ill-conceived drive towardsoverly pragmatic vocationalism.Clearly there were people in the survey who felt that a qualification in HumanSciences was not specific enough for their employment needs and that, on reflection,they ought to have taken a specifically vocational course, such as a certificate inteacher training or a diploma in social work training. These people could get intotheir chosen vocation but probably had to take a more circuitous route [more time,more debt, slower progression once in post, etc]. With hindsight Human Sciencesmay therefore not have been the ideal route for these students, although thisrealisation may only have dawned in the later stages of the course. It is also importantto note that there are others who seem to have used Human Sciences as a veryeffective launching pad into teaching, social work or even medicine. Although theextended route may produce a more rounded professional it does not sit easily withthe need to deal with financial pressures arising from student debt, housing costs andgeneral subsistence.For the majority of students, Human Sciences as a general programme providing aconsiderable breadth of knowledge and skills seems to have worked extremelyeffectively. For students who came onto the programme with only vague notions of38what they wanted to do when they finished their degree, it provided the means toexplore and identify intellectual strengths and weaknesses and, furthermore, to putthese in the context of realistic career options. For mature students in particular, tothink of life post-graduation was very difficult, given the struggle there has usuallybeen to get on to the programme in the first place. For these students, intellectualcapability appears to unfold alongside confidence and a sense of direction. A furtherfactor in this regard is that local mature and working class students were often onlyvaguely aware of the range of jobs that are open to graduates with a good degree,irrespective of the discipline. In summary, it might be said that the majority ofstudents had only a very sketchy idea of what they would be doing on a HumanSciences programme but were generally very pleased with what they did do and foundit useful in their subsequent employment in ways that they could not have imagined.Mills (2003:21) refers to the ‘tendentious presumption that graduates will carry theiranthropological identity with them’. Our data, preliminary as the analysis currently is,suggest that in a variety of different ways such an identity is indeed carried on by thegraduate, and may even be developed in creative ways that could not have beenpredicted during their undergraduate course.Coda: Future research.A piece of research such as this offers some answers and insights but inevitably raisesfurther questions. When it comes to developing a more incisive analysis of thechanging relationship between anthropology and its applications outside of theacademy, three areas have struck us as particularly important to explore:1. The anthropology degrees currently delivered in the UK each have their ownhistories and identities and consequently applied anthropology is treated verydifferently in each. At one end of the spectrum application and practical skills areviewed as a serious distraction from the real business of communicating theanthropological canon. At the other end of the spectrum attempts are made tocombine this canon actively and creatively with practical skills and reflexivepedagogy [also cf. Mascarenhas-Keyes and Wright, 1995]. However, debates aboutskills and application tend to assume that anthropology is uniformly delivered andtherefore the process of grafting these elements will also be a uniform procedure. Wewould suggest that research be undertaken to test this assumption and, furthermore, toproduce a typology of departments in relation to skills and application. Crucially,such an exercise would not be about ‘league tables’ and ‘stars’ but the basis of amore co-ordinated response by the discipline of anthropology to the demands that arecurrently being placed upon it; a considered justification for producinganthropologically aware graduates with different mixes of knowledge and skill.2. The assumption of uniformity in the delivery of all academic disciplines in the UKis currently being driven by the Benchmarking exercise and other attempts tointroduce commensurability in the delivery of higher education. It would thus seemthat advocacy of diversity in the styles of delivery of anthropology goes against one ofthe more fundamental quality assurance initiatives of recent times. However, inrecognition of the diversity that exists within anthropology, the Benchmarks wereexplicitly constructed to fit the existing topography of the discipline rather than39shaped according to any one version of it. What then becomes the interesting questionishow different departments are reading the rather open-ended checklists thatcharacterise the anthropology Benchmarks and, furthermore, how these then play outin academic review.? Research which explores how the elements of theBenchmarking exercise that deal with practical skills and application are interpretedin practice is a necessary corollary to that suggested in item one above.3. In understanding the relation between anthropology and employment, the mostimportant variable of all is the student’s experience - before, during and afteruniversity. A more comprehensive programme of research into biographical details,such as social and educational background, the decision to take anthropology atuniversity, degree experience and subsequent career moves, is fundamental to anyattempt to improve our understanding of the relationship between anthropology andits wider applications.40ReferencesAntikainen, A., Houtsonen, J., Kauppila, J. and Huotelin, H, Living in a Learning Society: LifeHistories, Identities and Education, London: Falmer Press, 1996Benn, R. and Fieldhouse, R. ‘Government policies on university expansion and wider access, 1945-51and 1985-91 compared’, Studies in Higher Education, Vol 18, No 3, 1993, 299-313.Bernstein, B. 1971 Class, Codes and Control. Vol.1, Theoretical Studies Towards a Sociology ofLanguage. London: Routledge and Kegan PaulBeynon, H, Sadler, D. and Hudson, R.1994 A Place Called Teesside: A Locality in a Global EconomyEdinburgh: Edinburgh University Press,.Coleman, S. 2002 ‘The New Higher Education? 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Social Anthropology Teaching and Learning NetworkMills, David 2003 ‘Quantifying the Discipline: Some Anthropology Statistics from the UK’Anthropology Today 19(3):19-22Pink, S and Fardon, R. 2004 Applied Anthropology in the 21st Century: Comment. Anthropology Today20(2):22-23Richardson, S. 2001 A Marriage Made in Heaven or a Marriage of Convenience' - Which ComesCloser to Describing the Relationship Between theUniversity of Durham and its Campus at Stockton?". Unpublished MA Thesis, Durham School ofEducation.Sillitoe, Paul ‘Time to be Professional?’ Anthropology Today 19(1):1-2Simpson, B. 1997 ‘Anthropology, vocationalism and the undergraduate curriculum’ Anthropology inAction, Vol. 4 No 2, 23-5.Wright, S. 2004 Politically Reflexive Practitioners. In D. Drackle and I.R.Edgar (eds) Learning Fields(Vol 2): Current Policies and Practices in European Social Anthropology Education. Oxford:Berghahn.41APPENDIX ONE –Knowledge and Practice Course Details for2000*.* nb this is a much earlier version of the course and is provided here to give animpression of our approach to applied anthropology at that time. In 2002 thecourse underwent a radical transformation in terms of its content and it was alsoextended into a 20 credit module. Details of the new version can be obtainedfrom robert.simpson@durham.ac.uk42Health and Human Sciences/Human SciencesKNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICECourse Tutor: Sandra Bell, Iain Edgar & Bob Simpson.University of Durham, Stockton CampusFirst Semester, 2000-0143Knowledge and PracticeCOURSE HANDBOOK“An anthropology degree is about more than just academic study,it is an encounter with oneself, one’s own ideas, prejudices, takenfor-granted attitudes and values”University of Lampeter Prospectus, 1997Preamble: Some Frequently Asked Questions.....1. “Why Knowledge and Practice?”The potential and actual applications of anthropology in everyday life arestressed throughout the Human Sciences and Health and Human Sciences degrees.This module looks at applied anthropology in more detail, and invites you to reflecton how you will put the insights gained from your degree to use in your future lifeand career. In other words, how to turn ‘knowledge’ into ‘practice’.2. “How do I turn anthropology into a career?”Employment opportunities for applied anthropologists are growing. However,it is not always easy to locate these opportunities. As the video you will see in thefirst week illustrates, anthropological training and experience are applicable in manywork settings but require anthropologists to stretch their imaginations to envisioncareer possibilities that may not sound like traditional anthropology. You will need tobe able to look at a situation and recognise the possibilities for you to offeranthropological skills, and then be able to help others recognise the fit. It is notenough to present yourself as an anthropologist and expect someone to realise thatyou have skills and approaches they need. Whether in research, employment or inyour community, you will have to relate your experiences and education to situationsthat you might not think of as anthropology. Where an employer is concerned, youmay have to learn how to adapt your language and the way in which you presentyourself to others so that you can be seen and heard as a suitably qualified and ableemployee.The boundaries between and among cultures and societies are becoming lessclear, technology is allowing ever-greater interaction amongst people, and our ownculture and society is becoming increasingly complex. With these changes, the skillsthat anthropologists have are of critical value to society, and anthropologists arefinding their way into industry, government, communities and organisations ofvarious kinds. Interesting and exciting job options for anthropologists will continueto grow as long as we provide useful products in return. The utility of our products isdetermined in large part by our ability to work as members of teams, our disciplineduse of an array of anthropological tools, and our skill at reporting our findings in atimely, accessible and clear manner.The use of interpersonal networks is a traditional anthropological tool. Inplanning a career as an applied anthropologist, you will need to cultivate networkswith other practicing anthropologists. Joining the organisation Anthropology inAction is one of the many ways to begin this process. Subscription gives you yourown copies of the journal Anthropology in Action and notices about and access to the44many events organised by the association and its members (membership formattached). You might also consider joining discussion group - AnthropologyInAction@groups.com). You should also consider carefully developing a mentor inyour chosen field.3. “If I am interested in working as an applied anthropologist, what furtherqualifications do I need?”While practicaly applications are stressed throughout, Human Sciences andHealth and Human Sciences are essentially non-vocational degrees. Therefore youmay find you will need to obtain further qualifications in order to maximise theopportunities available to you. What you need will depend on the expectations ofemployers, the regional work setting, and your own entrepreneurial skills. Althoughthe number of positions for which a degree in anthropology is required or recognisedas a qualifying credential is increasing all the time, there are relatively few jobs apartfrom university teaching or anthropological museum work (and precious few ofthese!) that explicitly require a degree in anthropology. For the most part, you will becompeting with people holding various kinds of degrees from various places, and it isimportant to emphasise why anthropology as a discipline, and the Human Sciencesdegrees at Stockton in particular, are most relevant to the job in question. Inconsidering what the degrees have to offer, you should think particularly about thetransferable skills and experience you have amassed here. These include IT, teamwork, project work and the breadth of knowledge and intellectual flexibility thedegrees require for success.You may well need to consider going on to work for a postgraduatequalification where you can take the skills and orientation of your undergraduatedegree in anthropology but acquire new skills and a sharper ‘career profile’ forpotential employers. There are now a number of Masters level degrees in differentareas of applied anthropology in the U.K. (see below), but you should also considerqualifications in non-anthropological disciplines such as health studies, humanresource management, occupational psychology, law, counselling or an MBA. Inappraising the quality of a course, you should look into the number of contact hoursoffered, the number of lectures, classes and other activities specific to postgraduatestudents, and find out where graduates have gone on to, and how many have got jobs(i.e.outcomes). For work as a consultant in (say) international development or medicalinstitutions, a PhD can be an important asset for which a masters level qualification isa useful stepping stone. In addition to your degree, your particular skills andexperience play a critical part in the recruitment process. Work experience (paid orunpaid) can also be crucial, and it is worth gaining whatever experience is relevant toyour chosen career path wherever and whenever you can.454. “Are there universities offering courses in applied anthropology?”Many academic departments offer training that will help prepare you forcareers in applied anthropology. However, there are now a number of universities inthe U.K. which offer postgraduate training especially designed to offer this kind ofpreparation. However, you should consider whether your future career interests arebest served by taking this route rather than a more specifically vocational qualificationin a non-anthropological subject (see above). A good course in applied or practicinganthropology will be characterised by more elaborate training in social sciencemethodology, good working relationships with academic programmes in relevantcognate fields (e.g. development, medicine, education, agriculture and forestry,business, public health, nursing), academic staff actively involved in practicinganthropology, and a strong commitment to internships and practical experience.Often courses emphasise a specific area of work such as medical anthropology ordevelopment anthropology. In the case of full-time postgraduate courses, fundingmay sometimes be obtained through a research or professional body.Finally, back to the point at the start of this preamble. Human Sciences andHealth and Human Sciences at Stockton, and this module in particular, have beenrecognised as pathbreaking in the ways that links between ‘knowledge’ and ‘practice’in anthropology are made at undergraduate level. (See the 'Report on Teaching andLearning Social Anthropology in the United Kingdom'. This report, published in1995, gathered data on the state of the art in anthropology teaching in the UK:Durham/Stockton features regularly and prominently throughout!)Knowledge and PracticeNUTS AND BOLTSAims and Objectives‘Knowledge and Practice’ aims to give you an understanding of the scope of appliedanthropology, and the chance to reflect on how you can best incorporate your HumanSciences education into a career. In other words, to enable you to turn youraspirations into reality by transforming knowledge into practice. The practical,academic and ethical issues involved in doing this will be considered. The aim is togive you instruction and ‘hands-on’ experience in a variety of career-developmentstrategies, such as setting objectives, doing a ‘skills audit’ on yourself, identifying andanalysing the qualifications needed for a particular career path, writing applicationletters, compiling a CV, developing interview strategies, and developing and usingnetworks. You will also hear about the applicability of anthropology to a number ofdifferent work domains, and develop practical skills relevant to some of these. Inaddition, you will have the chance to meet practicing anthropologists and find outhow they see the relevance of anthropology in their careers.By the end of the module, you will have:1. An understanding of the history and current scope of applied anthropology, and abetter appreciation of the ways in which anthropological knowledge can be used.462. Spent time clarifying your own motivations, aspirations, values and goals, andseen how the skills and approaches of the Human Sciences/Health and HumanSciences degrees, and other experiences, can be harnessed to your own career path.3. A better understanding of the range of career paths open to you, and therequirements/qualifications for them.4. A carefully crafted, up-to-date CV and other materials of use in the developmentof your career.5. Experience in writing application letters, and advice on doing well at interview.6. Other practical experience relevant to the work domain, such as project planningand evaluation.7. A better appreciation of some of the problems involved in the practice ofanthropology outside academia, and ideas for dealing with these.Learning StrategiesThe module will be based on eleven lecture/talks (some of them by guest speakers)and seven double classes/workshops. Lectures take place every Tuesday afternoonfrom 2-3pm. Classes take place on Tuesday mornings from 11-1 during the firstseven weeks of the semester. The classes are large-group format, but will frequentlybe broken down to enable practical activities to be carried out individually or in smallgroups.Information about assessment for the module follows the course schedule (below).Contacting Your TutorThe most reliable way of contacting tutors is by e-mail (sandra.bell@durham.ac.uk,i.r.edgar@durham.ac.uk, and robert.simpson@durham.ac.uk) . All staff have officehours when you can meet to talk about work or can meet at other times byappointment. Lists of contact numbers at both UDSC and Durham Main Campus areavailable from Alison Hunt.The fax number at Durham is 0191-374 2870.The Careers Advisory Service at Stockton Campus: Sharon C Richardson is thecareers adviser responsible for the management and delivery of the Careers AdvisoryService at Stockton Campus. The service currently consists of three staff; careersadviser, information Assistant (Jane Pattison) and student information assistant(Nilufa Ali). It is important to note that the service is part of the Durham UniversityCareers Advisory Service.The Careers Advisory Service at Stockton offers:47· access to wide ranging information on different careers, employers and postgraduateopportunities;· an opportunity to discuss your ideas with a qualified and experienced careersadviser;· access to vacancy information;· employer presentations and sessions;· a computer aided careers guidance system (Prospects Planner) This can provideyou with a list of possible careers based on your interests and abilities.· an Careers Information Fair (Career Focus 2000) which will give you the chanceto speak to people who may eventually employ you.· an email careers enquiry line - CAS.Stockton@durham.ac.ukAlso, as a student of the University of Durham, you have access to the presentations,careers fairs and facilities at Durham. Check the noticeboards for details or call in theCareers Advisory Service for more information.The Careers Advisory Service can be found in the Information Resource Centre. Youcan contact Sharon Richardson by email sharon.richardson@durham.ac.ukor telephone (5380 if calling from within the campus or 01642 335380).COURSE SCHEDULEWeek 1 (Tuesday, 3rd October)Classes: Introduction to the Module - aims and objectivesVideo: ‘Anthropologists at Work: Careers Making a Difference’Discussion - what do you want from the module? How do theHS/HHS degrees fit in with the rest of you life?Reading: Bolles ‘What Color is Your Parachute’BrunerColeman and Simpson, Discovering Anthropology (Section 8:Anthropology and Careers)Croft, C. ‘Time Management’ (especially Chapter 3, ‘Objectives:Where do you Want to Be?’)Donnan and Ruane, Social Anthropology in Ireland. (Chapter 2,‘Social Anthropology: selected careers’).Ferraro, Trevathan and Levy, Anthropology: an Applied Perspective.(Chapter 3: ‘Applied Anthropology’).Giddens, Modernity and Self-Identity (Chapter 3, ‘The Trajectory ofthe Self’, pp. 70-88) - looks at concern with ‘lifestyles’ and ‘lifeplans’ as reflection of modernity in western world.Hopson and Scally ‘Build Your Own Rainbow’Miller and MorganOmohundro, Careers in Anthropology48NAPA, ‘Anthropologists at Work: Responses to Student QuestionsAbout Anthropology Careers’Simpson, Anthropology, Vocationalism and the UndergraduateCurriculum.Teaching and Learning Anthropology Network: Career Pathways andDevelopment.Wallman, Contemporary Futures (Introduction) - the future, and oursense of a place in it, as a cultural construct.Wulff and Fiske, Introduction (looks at ways and means of translatinganthropological ‘knowledge’ into ‘action’)_Lecture: Introduction to the Careers Advisory Service (Sharon Richardson)Reading: Information in Careers Library relevant to your needs, e.g. AgCASbooklets (and web pages) such as ‘Mature Students: the WayForward’, ‘Postgraduate Study and Research’ and the leaflets producedby the Durham Careers Service itself. Career Pages from the qualitynewspapers.Assignment: Career Description, Lifeline, Career Anchor, and CharacterSketch Exercise for classes next week, and materials for ‘Job Search’___Week 2 (Tuesday, 10th October)Classes: Discussion of career description, lifeline, career anchor, objectives andcharacter sketch exercises. What do the HS/HHS degrees have to offer? Qualities,values and motivations you have, and what you need to get for particular career paths.What is a skill, and where do skills come from?Lecture: the work commenced in the classes will continue on into the lecture slot.Assignment: Continue ‘Skills Check’ and ‘Job Search’ exercises, and Action Plan_Week 3 (Tuesday, 17th October)This week will be slightly irregular in that we are hoping to fit in an extra class. Thereason for this is that Josh Levene is currently working in Kosovo and only here for ashort stay. Iain Edgar is running these sessions and will be in touch to discuss whichslots will be best to run the extra class. Ideally we would like this to run on fromJosh’s afternoon session.49Classes: Careers Advisory Service at Stockton Campus: a workshop run by SharonRichardsonLecture: Participatory Methods and Approaches – Plenary (Josh Levene)Assignment: Compile a CV and write an application letter for next stage on yourchosen career path for next week’s class.Classes: Participatory Methods and Approaches (Josh Levene)[Josh is a HS graduate who has subsequently worked in a number of projects in theSouth Pacific and on Teesside which have involved using PRA methods andtechniques]Reading: Cornwall and Jewkes – What is Participatory Research?Chambers – Whose Reality Counts (chapter abstracts)Website – http://nt1.ids.ac.uk/eldis/pra/pra.htm__Week 4 (Tuesday, 24th October)Classes: Discussion of skills check and job search exercises.Peer review of first drafts of your CV and application letter.Assignment: Revise your CV and application letter in the light of peer review, andput it and other exercises together in Careers Portfolio for submission at classes inWeek 6.Lecture: ‘Human Sciences and Me’ - HS/HHS graduates tell their stories.__Week 5 (Tuesday, 31st October)Lecture: Anthropologists and Development (Bob Simpson)Development often entails bringing together those who have considerableamounts of power and resources (e.g. governments, agencies, institutions) andthose who have not. Good intentions can easily be misconstrued, misplacedand mis-interpreted if implemented without sensitivity and goodcommunication. The skills of anthropologists are often used in these contextsto facilitate planning and appropriate development. In this lecture we will50look at some of the basic principles of development in relation toanthropology.Reading: Chambers, Rural Development: Putting the Last First. EspeciallyChapter 8, ‘Practical Action’.Cernea, ‘Sociological Knowledge for Development Projects’.Conlin, ‘Anthropological Advice in a Government Context’. In Grilloand Rew.Green, ‘A Short-Term Consultancy in Bangladesh’. In Green (ed.)Practicing Development AnthropologyGriffith in PottierMesserschmidt, ‘Conservation and Society in Nepal: Traditional ForestManagement and Innovative Development’. In Little et al(eds.) Lands at Risk.Overseas Development Administration, Guide to Social Analysis...No classes__Week 6 (Tuesday, 7th November)Class/lecture: Sandra Bell will run a three hour workshop based on her own researchin to the Wetland communities of the Danube Delta. You will be given a text and avariety of images and asked to work in groups to devise a research programme on thequestions raised regarding ecology, community and development in these areas. (nbyou may wish to use this example as the basis for your summative assessment).N.B. Your Careers Portfolio is due at these classes_Week 7 (Tuesday, 14th November)Classes: Career Opportunities in the NHS: a workshop run by Marie Johnson(Durham University Business School). Health rationing exercise - communicationand decision-making skills.Lecture: Anthropologists and Organizations (Bob Simpson)Reading: Wright, Chapter 1Etkind_51Week 8 (Tuesday, 21st November)NO CLASSESLecture: Anthropology and Social Work (David Stanley, University of Northumbria,and Iain Edgar)Reading: Edgar, ‘The Contribution of Anthropology to Social and CommunityWork Education and Practice in the UK’.deRoche, ‘Empathy and the Anthropological Imagination’__Week 9 (Tuesday, 28th November)NO CLASSESLecture: Applied anthropology in historical perspective (Bob Simpson)A brief history of the fascinating (and at times deeply suspect!) applications ofanthropologyReading: Partridge and Eddy ‘The Development of Applied Anthropology inAmerica’ in Eddy and Partridge.E. Chambers, ‘Applied Anthropology in the Post-Vietnam Era:Anticipation and Ironies’.Grillo, ‘Applied Anthropology in the 1980s: Retrospect and Prospect’.In Grillo and Rew.Kohn, ‘A Text in its Context: F.E. Williams and the Vailala Madness’_Week 10 (Tuesday, 5th December)NO CLASSESLecture: Anthropology, Group Process and the Work Place. (Iain Edgar)Readings: Edgar, ‘The Group Context’ in Dreamwork: Anthropology andthe Caring Professions. ‘Basic Groupwork’ by Tom Douglas, ‘EffectiveGroupwork’ by M Preston Shoot, ‘Feminist Groupwork’ by Bulter andWintram._Week 11 (Tuesday, 14th December)52NO CLASSESLecture: Knowledge and Practice - tying up loose ends - evaluations. (Iain Edgar)N.B. Your project is due by 4.00pm on Wednesday, January 10th._ASSESSMENTFormative Assessment:Careers PortfolioYour work during the first six weeks of the module should be gathered together andsubmitted in the form of a Careers Portfolio. This should include the exercisescompleted during the module such as the Career Description, Lifeline, Career Anchor,Character Sketch, Skills Check, Action Plan and Job Search. Further informationabout all these exercises will be given in lectures and classes. It should also contain adraft version of your CV and an application letter, and a short piece of written workdescribing what you have done so far for your summative project, together with abibliography. Please fill in an evaluation form and return it with your CareersPortfolio (at the end of this handbook) Failure to enclose an evluation form will delaythe return of your Careers Portfolio.‘Skills check’ exercises - assessing your skills and strengths based on the lifelineexercise, incorporating personal experience, roles, jobs and individual qualtities. Thiswill be done in general, and in relation to a particular career.‘Job search’ - identifying a potential job/career/research pathway, and alternatives,and analysing what is needed for it/them. Obtaining information of qualifications andexperience needed for different stages along identified path. You will find it useful to'comb' careers pages from ‘quality newspapers’ and journals, to use jobs centres, theUniversity Careers Service, Careers Fairs, and information obtained direct frompotential employers/institutions, their own noticeboards and your owncontacts/networks.CVApplication Letter - An application letter should explicitly link your skills to therequirements stated in the job, work or research description. (NB - you may wish toidentify a 'real' opportunity or the application may be an imaginary, but plausible,one).1. A final copy of your CV and application letter, with comments onprevious versions from other course participants (class week 4).532. Information on jobs/courses or whatever you have gained in yourinvestigation of particular career paths.3. Results of exercises carried out during module.4. Other materials you feel relevant to your career path development,particularly a description of your summative project.A ring-binder would be an appropriate way to present this material. Please do not putanything you want marked into individually leaved plastic wallets.Summative Assessment:Summative assessment will be based on a 2000 word project + CV.The aim of the project is to enable you to go into some aspect of a future career inmore detail, bringing in both theoretical literature from within anthropology as well asother materials gathered together during the module. The project should beaccompanied by a final version of your CV.The provisional criteria for the assessment of your project are as follows:Style/Presentation - 50% of total- Pretend your project is part of some real application process (as your CVundoubtedly will be one day). Marks will be scythed away mercilessly for poorgrammar, spelling and punctuation.Content - 50% of total- The project should show evidence of your active engagement with, researchinto and reflection upon a topic related to careers, the world or work of futurestudy, including relevant literature (to be presented in a bibliography). [NByour CV will not be assessed for content, only style/presentation]The project should be geared to your own needs and aspirations, but linked to relevantliterature both within anthropology and outside. Topics that might be suitable for aproject include the following:The changing world of ‘x’ [where ‘x’ could be a career of your choice, fromaccountancy to zoo-keeper. To be effective, such a project should focus on changesthat have taken place in all aspects of this career over the past ten years or so. Howcan anthropology be applied to understand and enhance a career in this area?]A proposal for postgraduate research in ‘x’ [This could be on an actual applicationform, e.g. for the Economic and Social Research Council]A funding proposal for a project in your local community [Again, this will be mosteffective if the application process of a real funding body, e.g. the National LotteriesCommission, has been followed]ALPHABETICAL READING LIST54In order to gain the most from this module it is important you read as widely aspossible from the readings given, as well as those in the Careers Service and fromother sources. You should start perusing the careers/jobs/education pages of qualitynewspapers (such as the Guardian, delivered to Stockton campus library) from Week1 and writing off for further information about career paths which interest you.The Stockton campus library subscribes to the journals Anthropology in Action andPracticing Anthropology. Durham library has the journal Human Organization.There is also a lot to be found (and much worth ignoring) on the World Wide Web.Prospects (www.prospects.csv.ac.uk) offers a good starting point.Key: _ Book(s) or journal in Stockton campus library._ Photocopies in Stockton campus library library, one on reference.DL Books available from Durham Main LibraryCS Book available from the UDSC Careers Service* Books ordered for UDSC Bookshop_ Ahmed, A. and C. Shore (1995) (eds.) The Future of Anthropology: itsRelevance to the Contemporary World. London: Athlone._ Albery, N. (1992). The Book of Visions: an Encyclopaedia of SocialInnovations. London: Virgin.DL Almy, S. (1977). Anthropologists and Development Agencies. AmericanAnthropologist, 79: 280-292.DL Bastide, R. (1973). Applied Anthropology. London: Croom Helm._ Bate, S.P. (1997) Whatever Happened to Organisational Anthropology? AReview of the Field of Organisational Ethnography and AnthropologicalStudies. Human Relations, 50(9): 1147-75.DL Berreman, G.D. (1968). Is Anthropology Alive? Social Responsibility inSocial Anthropology. Current Anthropology, 9(5): 391-396._* Bolles, R.N. (1999). The 1999 What Color is Your Parachute: a PracticalManual for Job-Hunters and Career-Changers. Berkeley: Ten Speed Press.[1996 and 1998 editions in Stockton library]._ _ Bruner, E. (1990). Tenure Narratives. Anthropology Newsletter,vol.31, No 6, September, p.48._ Byrne (1997) Beyond the degree: a student’s perspective. Anthropology inAction, 4(2): 25-6._ Cernea, M. (1985). Sociological Knowledge for Development Projects. In M.Cernea (ed.). Putting People First: Sociological Variables in RuralDevelopment. Oxford: Oxford University Press.55_ Chambers, E. (1985). Applied Anthropology: A Practical Guide, Illinois:Waveland Press._ ______ (1987). Applied Anthropology in the Post-Vietnam Era:Anticipations and Ironies. Annual Review of Anthropology, 16: 309-337._ Chambers, R. (1983). Rural Development: Putting the Last First. London:Longman. (Chapter 8: Practical Action)._ ______ (1997). Whose Reality Counts? Putting the First Last. London:Intermediate Technology Publications._ Chrisman, N.J. and T.W. Maretzki (1982) (eds.). Clinically AppliedAnthropology: Anthropologists in Health Service Settings. Dordrecht: D.Reidel._ Coleman, S. and B. Simpson (1998) (eds.) Discovering Anthropology: aResource Guide for teachers and students. London: Royal AnthropologicalInstitute._ Cornwall, A. and R. Jewkes (1995). ‘What is Participatory Development?’Social Science amd Medicine,_ Croft, C. (1996) Time Management. London: International Thomson BusinessPress._ deRoche, Constance P. (1989). Empathy and the AnthropologicalImagination. Practicing Anthropology, 11(3):6-7._ Donnan, H. and J. Ruane (1991). Social Anthropology in Ireland. ASourcebook. Belfast: Anthropological Association of Ireland. (Chapter 2:Social Anthropology: selected careers)._ Eddy, E.M. and W.L. Partridge (1987) (eds.). Applied Anthropology inAmerica (2nd ed.). New York: Columbia University Press._ Edgar, I.R. (1993). The Contribution of Social Anthropology to Social andCommunity Work Education and Practice in the UK. Social Work and SocialSciences Review, 4(3): 197-212._ Edgar, I.R. and A. Russell (eds) (1998). The Anthropology of Welfare.London: Routledge._ Elkind, A. (19 ). Using Metaphor to Read the Organization of the NHS.Social Science and Medicine, 47(11): 1715-27.DL Erasmus, C.J. (1968). Community Development and the Encogido Syndrome.Human Organization, 27: 65-74, 91-94.56_ Ferraro, G., W. Trevathan and J. Levy (1994). Anthropology: an AppliedPerspective. Minneapolis: West. [Chapter 3: Applied Anthropology]._ Fluehr-Lobban, C. (ed.) (1991). Ethics and the Profession of Anthropology:Dialogue for a New Era. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.DL Foster, G. (1969). Applied Anthropology. Boston: Little and Brown.DL Freedman, M. (1978). Main Trends in Social and Cultural Anthropology.New York: Holmes and Meier._ Giddens, A. (1991). Modernity and Self-Identity: Self and Society in the LateModern Age. Stanford: Stanford University Press.DL Goldschmidt, W. (1977). Anthropology and the Coming Crisis: anAutoethnographic Appraisal. American Anthropologist, 79: 299-308.DL Goodenough, W.H. (1962). The Growing Demand for Behavioral Science inGovernment: Its Implications for Anthropology. Human Organization, 21(3):172-176._ Green, E.C. (1986). A Short-Term Consultancy in Bangladesh. In E.C.Green (ed.) Practicing Development Anthropology. Boulder: Westview._ Grillo, R. (1994). The Application of Anthroplogy in Britain, 1983-1993. InC.M. Hann (ed.) When History Accelerates: Essays on Rapid Social Change,Complexity, and Creativity. London: Athlone._ Grillo, R. and A. Rew (1985) (eds.). Anthropology and Development Policy.London: Tavistock (ASA Monographs 23)._ Harrison, P. (1983). Inside the Inner City: Life Under the Cutting Edge.Harmondsworth: Penguin. (Sections ‘Growing Up Nasty’, and ‘Criminals andtheir Victims’)._ Hill, C.E. (1991). Training Manual in Applied Medical Anthropology.Washington D.C.: American Anthropological Association._* Hopson, B. and M. Scally (1999). Build Your Own Rainbow: A Workbook forCareer and Life Management (2nd ed.). Chalford: Management Books 2000.[1st ed. in UDSC library, 2nd ed. on order for Main library]._ Hyatt, S. (1993). Can the Anthropology of Activism also be an activistanthropology? Thoughts on fieldwork on a council estate. Anthropology inAction (No. 16):19-21._ Johannsen, A.M. (1992). Applied Anthropology and Post-ModernistEthnography. Human Organization, 51(1): 71-81.CS* Kent, S. ( ). Creating Your Career, Kogan Page.57_ Kohn, T. (1988). A Text in its Context: F.E. Williams and the VailalaMadness. Journal of the Anthropological Society of Oxford, 29(1): 25-42.CS* Longson, S. ( ). Getting a Job After University, How to Books Ltd._ Macfarlane, A. (1977). History, Anthropology and the Study of Communities.Journal of Social History, (5): 631-652._ Mascarenhas-Keyes, S. (ed.) (1997). Report on Teaching and Learning SocialAnthropology in the United Kingdom. London: RAI._ Miller, N. & Morgan, D. (1993). Called to account: The CV as anautobiographical practice. Sociology, Vol. 27. no 1, pp 133-143DL Nader, L. (1974). Up the Anthropologist - Perspectives Gained from StudyingUp. In D. Hymes (ed.) Reinventing Anthropology. New York: VintageBooks._ NAPA [National Association for the Practice of Anthropology] (1994).Anthropologists at Work: Responses to Student Questions about AnthropologyCareers. Washington: NAPA._ Omohundro, J.T. (1998) Careers in Anthropology. General Anthropology,4(2): 1-6._* ______ (1998) Careers in Anthropology. Mountain View: Mayfield._ Overseas Development Administration (1995) A Guide to Social Analysis forProjects in Developing Countries. 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Great Answers to Tough Interview Questions, KoganPage.59APPENDIX TWO –Knowledge and Practice SurveyQuestionnaire and Letter60[date as post mark]DearWe are seeking your help with a survey that aims to find out what use graduates inHuman Sciences have made of their anthropology training in their subsequent careers.Attached you will find a short questionnaire which we hope you will find time tocomplete.You will, no doubt, already have received questionnaires sent out by the AlumniOffice of the University about general graduate destinations. However, these provideonly a broad picture of career paths. The purpose of this survey is to get a moredetailed impression of how your experience of university life has helped you aftergraduation. Given that you were a student of Human Sciences and would havestudied social and biological anthropology, we are keen to find out from you whatyour experiences have been and where, if at all, a Human Sciences degree has fittedinto life after your degree. Such information is useful to us in continuing to developthe Human Sciences programme and its orientation to careers and employment.Attached you will find a short questionnaire which we hope you will find time tocomplete. If you would like to talk more informally about your universityexperiences and subsequent career then please complete the section at the end of thequestionnaire.Many thanks for your help and co-operation.Yours SincerelyBob Simpson and Simon Coleman61Human Sciences Graduate Questionnaire - May 2003University of Durham, Department of AnthropologyIn this questionnaire we would like you to reflect back on your time at University in order toidentify which parts of your degree have proved particularly helpful to you.1. To give us some idea of how things have gone since you left University please fill out thetime-line overleaf. Mark the major career and personal developments on a continuousline starting at the point where you left University. Mark roughly when key eventshappened and take the line up or down according to whether you were experiencing‘highs’ or ‘lows’.2. What job are you doing now?3. Would you say you are satisfied with your current position in financial terms?Yes _ No _Comment4. Would you say you are satisfied with your current position in personal developmentterms?Yes _ No _Comment625. Would you say you are satisfied with your current position in terms of future careerdevelopment?Yes _ No _Comment6. Would you say that a Human Sciences degree was useful in enabling you to secureemployment?Yes _ No _Comment7. Were employers generally interested in the subject of your degree?Yes _ No _Comment8. If you had your time over again would you do the same degree?Yes _ No _Comment9. Which parts of the course have been most useful to you in your working life?[1= not useful at all – 5= invaluable]631 2 3 4 5General social skills acquired as being part of universitylifeAppreciation of scope and complexity of human diversityComputing skillsOpportunity to carry out in-depth study of an academicdisciplineReport writingBasic research skillsGeneral confidence buildingCommunication skillsNumerical and statistical skillsAwareness of other cultures and societiesWorking in groupsAre there are other aspects of your experience at university that have been particularly usefulthat do not feature on this list? If so, what are these?10. As part of your course did you take the level three Knowledge and Practice module?Yes _ No _If yes, please complete question 11, otherwise proceed to question 12.11. One of the aims of this module was to provide guidance and support when consideringhow to apply your anthropological knowledge to a future career. To what extent did themodule achieve this (1 = not at all, 5 very much so):1 2 3 4 5Gave useful ideas for applying my degree after graduation64Gave me a critical understanding of the nature of appliedanthropologyProvided useful practical information when it came to searchingfor jobs to apply for.Enabled me to reflect upon my personal developmentInspired confidence to use my degree in the world of work.Gave me practical skills that increased my chances of successfuljob applications [eg cv, letter writing, self-presentation].Were there other things in the Knowledge and Practice module that you found helpful whichare not listed above?12. If you did not take the Knowledge and Practice module, do you now wish that you had?Yes _ No _13. Are there any ways in which you think that the vocational support given to HumanSciences students through modules at Stockton could be strengthened?Yes _ No _Comment6514. Finally, it would be helpful if you could provide us with some general information aboutyourself:· Year of graduation? ……………………………………· Age at graduation? ……………………………………· What was the title and class of your degree?……………..………………………· Do you live in Teesside _, the North-East of England _, Scotland_, elsewhere inthe UK _, Europe _,or overseas _?· Sex? male _ female _If you would be happy for one of us to contact you to discuss your responses further pleasegive us your phone number or e-mail.Phone number:e-mail addressMANY THANKS AND WARM REGARDS66_Time LineHIGH SPOTSLeft University in ………?______________/________________/________________/________________PresentLOW SPOTS67APPENDIX THREETelephone follow up to non-responders.Did you receive a copy of the questionnaireIf yes:Was there any particular reason you didn’t reply?What is your particular employment situation now?On a scale one to ten how satisfied would you say you are with you r employmentsituation? [+ comment]Was a Human Sciences degree useful in helping you secure employment? [+comment]If you had your time over again would you choose to do Human Sciences?If no:EXPLAIN FORM/ PURPOSE OF THE SURVEYWould you like to fill in a questionnaire?